


The T-Shirt

by Saturn848



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:00:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24310201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saturn848/pseuds/Saturn848
Summary: At the end of her freshmen year of college, Waverly comes across a shirt that once belonged to the tall redhead who swept her off her feet and then broke her heart. Waverly recalls their relationship, from the day they met to the moment everything fell apart, and has one last night to change their fate before the semester is over.
Relationships: Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught
Comments: 21
Kudos: 163





	1. Chapter 1

Inspired by the song t-shirt by gnash

_“You broke my heart and all I got was this t-shirt”_

**May**

Waverly flops back on her dorm bed and stares up at the chipped ceiling paint. It’s the night before move-out and she’s exhausted from a day of packing all her things into boxes. Her roommate’s out, enjoying a final night of college freedom before they head back to their hometowns for summer.

She tried to convince Waverly to join her, insisting that they needed to stumble home to their dorm together at 3:00 a.m. one last time, but Waverly declined. Her aunt and sister are coming early tomorrow and she wants to make sure everything is packed neatly before they arrive. Plus, she knew two other girls from their hall planned on going out too so she wouldn’t have to worry about her roommate walking through the dark campus alone after the party.

Soft music fills the room, drifting out of Waverly’s speaker and bouncing off the nearly bare beige walls. She hates to see the room like this, all empty and stripped of the memories that had been tacked up throughout the year. Now only a few pictures remain tapped above her desk and just one strand of fairy lights have yet to be unplugged. Waverly sighs and pushes herself back up. It’s already midnight and while her half of the room has mostly been packed away, the closet looms before her, still stuffed with clothes and shoes waiting to be organized.

Waverly cranks up the volume on her speaker, she does her best organizing when she has music to dance to, and throws open the door to her closet. The closet is about fifty-percent sorority t-shirts. Waverly can’t recall when exactly she received them all, but throughout the year they’d been thrusted into her arms at initiation and date parties until she had enough delta gamma shirts to last her a lifetime. The sorority shirts are too daunting a task so she starts at the other end of the rack, pulling crop tops and flowy blouses off their hangers and folding them neatly on her mattress as she swings her hips to the beat.

She’s just reaching her non-sorority t-shirt section, made up of a few old Purgatory High tees and the standard issue College of Liberal Arts shirts that every freshman gets at orientation, when she stumbles upon the navy sleeves of a worn baseball tee. Her breath catches in her throat and her hands start to shake as she frees the shirt form its hanger and holds it out before her.

It looks like a baseball tee but the words _Western University Softball_ sprawl across the chest. She doesn’t need to flip it over to know what’s on the back, a large number 12 that sits below six blocky letters that spell out, _Haught_.

Before she can stop them, Waverly feels hot tears stream down her face. She hasn’t seen the shirt in at least a month. _Has it really been that long_ , she thinks, running the soft fabric between her fingers. It’s strange, how lovers can turn to strangers, how someone can go from everything to nothing in an instant.

Waverly sinks to the ground and sits cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by half-packed boxes and clutching the shirt to her chest. If anyone were to walk in right now, they’d stumble upon a sad sight. A girl clinging to a t-shift and crying on the last Friday night of spring semester while the campus parties around her. Waverly would feel bad for that girl if it wasn’t her.

Somehow, the scent of perfume is still embedded in the cotton. Not Waverly’s perfume, a pungent floral fragrance that made her sister gag but used to make the owner of the t-shirt grab her by the waist and kiss her until she saw stars. No this perfume is much lighter, sweet but subtle. It always reminded Waverly of vanilla dipped donuts, her favorite.

Now the sugary smell shatters her, reminds her of all the time she spent wrapped up in strong arms, the perfume flooding her senses. The small dorm room feels suddenly massive, and her tank top leaves her chilled. She aches to feel those arms around her again, and since she knows she can’t have that, Waverly pulls the softball tee over her head, settling for the next best thing.

The sleeves are too long, they almost reach her wrists like a normal long-sleeve shirt instead of three-quarters, but Waverly feels comforted by the way the fabric hangs loosely on her thin frame. She slides back on the carpet until her head rests against the foot of her bed and pulls her knees up to her chest.

For the first time in a month, Waverly allows herself to fully feel all the emotions she’s been shoving down since the break-up. Her shoulders shake and the tears keep coming, but Waverly makes no attempt to wipe them away. She’s spent the past four weeks avoiding any and every reminder of the auburn haired girl who broke her heart, attempting to finish the semester with her head held high and a smile on her face. But the thing about a broken heart is once it’s cracked it’s bound to splinter, and sometimes you just have to feel it in all its painful glory before the pieces can be placed back together.

So Waverly sits, her ex’s t-shirt sagging against her shoulders, and she thinks back to the time she first saw the shirt, back when the sleeves were saturated with color, before it had been washed over and over until the fabric became soft and the letters started to peel...


	2. Chapter 2

**August**

It’s 7:58 a.m. on a Monday and Waverly darts through a crowd of college students, a campus map pulled up on her phone and her long braid bouncing against her backpack as she runs. She mentally curses herself for snoozing her alarm so many times, it’s the first day of classes and she’s about to be late to her very first college class ever.

Waverly Earp isn’t tardy, not usually at least. But last night she had stayed up late in the lobby of her dorm talking with all the new people she had met during move-in, eating pizza in the middle of the night and feeling so very _college_. She hadn’t wanted to go to bed, to let the night end, so she didn’t. She payed the price that morning when she barely managed to drag herself out of bed for Intro to Psychology with Dr. Connors.

She finally reaches what she hopes is the right building and slips inside the doors. The cool air hits her and she’s relieved to find the lecture hall before her has the room number from her schedule posted beside the double doors. Waverly grips the handle just as the clock hits 8:00 and she steps into the large room that reminds her of a basketball arena, but if you sliced it into quarters and only kept one. There aren’t any hoops though, just a podium and two big projector screens. A sea of tiered seats cascade before her and Waverly is shocked to find nearly every one of them is filled. The professor starts talking into a microphone before Waverly has time to scope out the ideal seat so she shimmies her way down the nearest row until she reaches an empty seat in the middle and plops down, out of breath.

It’s barely been a minute and the professor starts clicking through the first slides of a PowerPoint. Waverly scrambles to pull out her notebook and pens, but in her haste she fumbles with her pencil pouch and ends up spilling an array of multicolored pens across the floor.

“ _Shit_ ,” She mumbles under her breath, leaning over to collect her stationary. Once her pens are back in order she opens her notebook to the first page and is about to start taking notes when she feels a light tap on her shoulder.

“I think you forgot one.”

Waverly turns to find a beautiful girl with shoulder length red hair and soft, brown eyes smiling at her, a purple pen balancing between her fingers. It takes Waverly a moment to remember how to form words, she’s too busy being held captive by those eyes that seem to stare straight into her soul. Having a stranger look at her like that should have been unnerving, but for some reason, Waverly feels drawn to the redhead.

“Thanks,” She smiles back at the girl and takes her pen, their fingers brushing ever so slightly as the writing utensil exchanges hands.

Waverly’s about to turn back to her notebook when the girl speaks again. “I’m Nicole, by the way.”

“Waverly,” She winces before clarifying, “My name, my name is Waverly.”

Nicole doesn’t seem phased by Waverly’s awkwardness and continues to smile at her.

“That’s a beautiful name.”

Waverly can feel herself blush at the girl’s words but is saved from having to come up with a response when a guy seated in the row in front of them turns around and shushes the two girls for speaking during the lecture. Nicole holds up her hands, feigning innocence, but as soon as he turns back around she rolls her eyes at his snapback and gives Waverly a wink that makes her heart flutter.

From that point on, Waverly is hopelessly unable to focus on the lecture. She does her best to jot down notes on the theories of psychology but she can’t help but let her eyes flicker to the right every now and then to catch a glimpse of the pretty redhead sat beside her.

She wears a pair of black wind shorts and a softball tee with the navy sleeves rolled up to sit just above her elbows. Her feet don white Nike tennis shoes and she has one of those university-issued backpacks that only athletes carry. _So she’s a student-athlete_ , Waverly thinks, _interesting_.

Waverly also finds herself being hyper-aware of how she’s sitting, and keeps un-crossing then re-crossing her legs in an attempt to find a position that’s both casual and comfortable. She concludes there’s no such thing. Waverly doesn’t understand why she’s so nervous. Well, she knows why, she’s bisexual and she’s sat next to a beautiful girl. She figured that out two years ago when Rosita Bustillos dared Waverly to kiss her and she liked it, but she meets pretty girls all the time and they don’t all make butterflies dance in her stomach after handing her a pen. Actually, none of them do that, this has never happened before. Waverly doesn’t even know the girl's last name. _Get a grip_ , she tells herself, _Focus on Freud_.

By the time the lecture ends, Waverly has only a half a page of notes but she doesn’t care, her mind is elsewhere. So far, she is not living up to her high school reputation of being a model student, Mrs. Wilson would be so disappointed. All thoughts of her former algebra teacher disappear when Waverly hears Nicole’s voice over the sounds of students packing up their bags to leave.

“It was nice to meet you, Waverly.” The redhead says as she stands up and slings her backpack over a shoulder.

_She remembered my name._

“Yeah, you too.” Waverly responds, carefully placing her pens back in their bag so as not to spill them again.

Nicole waits for Waverly to pack up her things and start walking down the isle before she moves to leave. She could’ve just stepped over Waverly’s bag but she didn’t, she stood patiently and allowed the brunette to gather her belongings. Once they’re out of the building and under the unforgiving, August sun, Nicole gives Waverly one last smile before she heads off in the opposite direction.

“I’ll see you on Wednesday,” She calls out, walking backwards for a few steps.

“Y-yeah, see you” Waverly stutters out, but she’s not sure if the girl hears her because she’s already turned around.

Waverly stands rooted to the spot, freshmen spilling out of the building and onto the sidewalk around her, her eyes glued to the redhead’s retreating form. The last thing she notices before Nicole is lost in the mass of bodies is a small rainbow pin attached to her backpack, glinting in the sun. Waverly’s fairly certain Intro to Psychology is going to be her favorite class.


	3. Chapter 3

**September**

They’re four weeks into the semester and Waverly finally feels like she’s getting a hang of this college thing. Her roommate has quickly become one of her best friends and she no longer gets lost on campus. The first few weeks were a lot, trying to juggle classes with sorority meetings and the never ending list of social functions that you can attend, but Waverly bought a planner and made a color-coded schedule that divides her time between academic and social commitments and she feels pretty confident she’s got a handle on things.

Waverly runs a hand through her hair as she walks, today it hangs loose around her shoulders in left-over curls from the night before. Chelsea dragged her to a fraternity bar tab last night that for some reason, was happing on a _Thursday_ of all days. Waverly had protested, reminding her that she had an 8:00 a.m. the next day, but her roommate had just tossed a crop top in her direction and informed Waverly that, “In college, the weekend _starts_ on Thursday”.

Despite the tiredness she can feel behind her eyes and the dull throb of a headache from all the vodka cranberries she drank the previous night, Waverly is in a good mood. Most college students despise 8:00 a.m.’s, but Waverly has an extra hop in her step on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings because she knows she’s going to see _her_.

When Waverly enters the lecture hall and her eyes land on the head of straight red hair her heart does a cartwheel and her stomach erupts in butterflies. Okay so maybe there’s one thing she doesn’t have a handle on.

She makes her way down the row and sits in her unassigned-assigned seat, right next to the same girl she sat beside on the first day.

“Hey,” She smiles as she sets down her bag and the redhead turns to return her smile.

“Hey you, coffee?” Nicole holds a cardboard coffee cup in each hand.

Waverly groans and takes the warm cup, “You’re a saint, you know that?” The smell wafting up from the lid alone seems to cure Waverly’s hangover and she sighs contentedly as she breathes in the rich aroma.

“I know,” Nicole has a proud grin on her face as she sets her own cup down and reaches into her bag to grab her notebook.

Nicole bringing Waverly coffee is new. It began when Nicole’s roommate got a job at the on-campus coffee shop last week and started giving her free cups in the morning before class. At first, Nicole only had one for herself, but last Friday she noticed Waverly eyeing the drink with envy so she showed up the next Monday with two. Waverly was so grateful she could’ve kissed her.

“How was training?” Waverly asks.

Over the past few weeks, Waverly has learned a lot about her good-looking classmate. She started arriving to class fifteen minutes early just so they could have time to talk before lecture begins. She’s learned that Nicole is, in fact, on the university softball team, and that she’s a pre-law psychology major. She’s also a freshman, like Waverly, and she grew up in a suburb just outside the city.

Nicole grimaces, “Rough, we were in the weight room for _hours_ yesterday.”

Waverly can’t help but picture Nicole in her work-out clothes on a bench press, sweat running down her toned arms. _Oh my god, chill,_ she tells herself.

“Well at least you’ll be super strong when the season starts.”

Nicole gives her one of those looks that makes Waverly want to squirm in her seat, “Oh yeah, super strong.”

Her eyes flit over Waverly’s form. She’s wearing a cropped white blouse with high waisted denim shorts, an unnecessarily nice outfit for an 8:00 a.m. lecture, but Waverly likes to dress up on the days she has psychology. Nicole’s eyes land on Waverly’s hand that’s currently propping her chin up.

Nicole gently pulls on Waverly’s wrist until her hand is laying palm down on the armrest between their seats. “Looks like you had a fun night,” Nicole comments, her thumb running across the faded X written on Waverly’s skin in sharpie.

Waverly’s cheeks redden, whether from Nicole’s touch or from being caught partying on a weeknight, she’s not sure.

“There was a tab, my roommate made me go.” Waverly hurries to explain.

Nicole shrugs, her face free of judgment, “Was it fun?”

“Sort-of…”

Waverly recalls the packed bar, Chelsea pulling her towards the cramped bathroom to scrub off the under-21 X’s that had been drawn on their hands. They must’ve not done a very good job since she can still see the outline, but the bar was dark and it did the trick last night. The rest of the night was a blur of drinks being pressed into her hand and the body of guy she’d never met before dancing behind her.

For a while, it was fun, but then she couldn’t spot her roommate’s blonde hair in the crowd, the boy’s grip on her waist felt too tight, and the room started to spin, but not in a good way. She eventually found Chelsea and the two called an Uber back to their dorm, but while the other girl raved about what a _crazy_ night she’d had, Waverly couldn’t help but feel a little bit empty.

“If a bunch of sweaty college kids and drunk frat boys are your thing.”

Nicole scrunches her nose. “It’s definitely not.”

Waverly laughs. “That’s fair, so what is your thing?” She gazes up at the other girl through her lashes. Waverly is acutely aware of the fact that Nicole has yet to remove her hand from atop her own.

Nicole smirks and opens her mouth to respond when the sound of their professor’s voice fills the hall and a hush falls over the room. She lifts her hand from where it was resting on Waverly’s and starts scribbling down notes as Dr. Connors begins his speech on “Psychology and the Brain”.

Waverly can’t help but feel disappointed at the loss of contact. She also really wants to know what Nicole’s thing is.

When class ends the two girls weave their way through the crowd of students, attempting to reach the exit, but suddenly the guy in front of Waverly stops to high-five his friend and she runs straight into his backpack. Waverly lets out a startled yelp as the remnants of her coffee wash over her white shirt, soaking it through to her bra.

“Hey watch where you’re going!” Nicole hollers at the kid, but he’s too busy talking to his buddies to notice.

Waverly wraps her arms around her chest, trying to hide the now see-through fabric, and Nicole quickly ushers her out of the throng of students and towards a restroom.

They enter the women’s restroom and Waverly stares down at her shirt in horror. “I can’t walk around campus like this!”

She starts pulling paper towels out of the dispenser and wetting them, attempting to dab away the coffee stains but it only makes the thin fabric appear even more translucent.

“Waverly, wait,” Nicole stills Waverly’s hand that’s clutching a clump of paper towels to her chest, “I think I might have an extra shirt you can borrow.”

“Really?”

Nicole swings her backpack around to her front and starts digging through notebooks until she pulls out a wrinkled navy and white shirt. She knits her eyebrows at its unkempt appearance.

“I swear it’s clean, It’s just been in there since yesterday,” She explains. “I brought a backup shirt for after my workout but I never wore it.”

“I believe you, thanks.” Waverly smiles and takes the shirt. She walks over to an empty stall and tosses Nicole’s shirt over the door. She doesn’t bother to lock it as she quickly lifts her blouse up and pulls it over her head.

Halfway up it gets stuck and Waverly panics. “Oh crap.”

She gives it another tug but the fabric has wrapped itself around her arms in a way that she can’t seem to untangle, not by herself at least.

“Uh, Nicole, I’m stuck.” Waverly lets out a nervous laugh.

She hears the door creak open as Nicole tentatively enters the stall then lets out an amused, “Oh,” When she sees the predicament Waverly’s in.

“Let me help you,” She says, and Waverly feels the shirt being tugged gently upwards. “I’ve got you.”

Waverly’s heart is beating rapidly and when the shirt is finally lifted over her head, letting her hair tumble out over her bare shoulders, she finds herself face to face with Nicole in the tiny stall.

“Thanks,” She breathes out.

Nicole gives her one of those smiles that makes Waverly melt. “No problem.”

Neither girl moves and Waverly feels captured by brown eyes. Waverly should be embarrassed, she’s half-naked in front of the girl who sits beside her three days out of the week, but she’s too busy memorizing every detail of Nicole’s face.

She notices the little freckle just below her eye and the way her hair frames her face, it looks so soft Waverly wants to reach out and tuck a strand behind her ear. But most of all, Waverly is caught up on her lips, and how it might feel to kiss them.

Waverly can’t know what’s going through Nicole’s head, but the air between them feels charged and she gazes down at Waverly with such an intense look, it takes her breath away.

Then the door to the bathroom slams open and a group of girls pour in, chatting loudly as they gather in front of the mirrors. Waverly suddenly feels self-conscious about their close proximity and her state of undress. Nicole reaches up and grabs her shirt, handing it to Waverly to throw over her head.

The shirt is a little big on her but Waverly figures she can knot it in the back later. She looks down and realizes it’s the same shirt Nicole wore on the first day of class. Waverly feels like somewhat of a stalker for remembering that, but how could she not when meeting the redhead had been the highlight of her whole day.

“You’re a saint.” Waverly lightly squeezes Nicole’s arm, trying to convey her thanks.

Nicole laughs, “So I’ve been told.”

Waverly turns to exit the stall when Nicole tugs her elbow, halting her. “Wait, the sleeves.”

Waverly glances at her arms which are almost entirely covered in navy fabric. “Oh, right.”

Before Waverly can attempt to roll them herself, Nicole is already folding the end of her right sleeve until it falls below Waverly’s elbow. Then she moves to the other side. Every time Nicole’s fingers brush against her skin, Waverly feels a shiver run through her body.

Nicole finishes and smiles at her work, “There, perfect.”

Waverly catches her bottom lip between teeth and stares up at Nicole, wanting to say something dumb like, _you’re perfect_ , but instead she says, “I’ll give it back to you on Monday, and I promise I’ll wash it.”

Nicole tells her not to worry about it but Waverly knows there’s no way she’s giving the shirt back without washing it, ironing it, and maybe even spritzing a little perfume on it just for good measure.

As Waverly darts out of the bathroom in order to make it to her next class on time, she shouts another, “Thank you!” over her shoulder before she’s thrust back into the maze of students.

She spends the rest of the day with a smile plastered on her face. She can’t quite believe she’s wearing the cute girl from psychology’s shirt. Half way through the day she discovers that the back has, _Haught_ , printed across the top and she feels even more giddy. Not to mention that Nicole’s perfume drifts up from the fabric while Waverly sits in class, sending her stomach spiraling during Intro to European History. She’s already dreading having to give it back.


	4. Chapter 4

**October**

It’s hell week and Waverly has consumed an ungodly amount of caffeine over the past three days. She’s almost to the finish line though, it’s Thursday night and she has one last midterm to take tomorrow for psychology, then it’s Halloween weekend. She hasn’t even had time to figure out her costumes for the numerous parties happening this weekend, she’s been too busy trying to pass all of her exams.

Waverly enters the library and starts scanning the tables for Nicole. They agreed to study together for the exam but Waverly can’t seem to spot the redhead amid the rows of sleep deprived students hunched over textbooks and cups of coffee.

Her phone buzzes in her pocket and she pulls it out to find Nicole has texted her to come to the back of the library, by the fiction section. Every time she sees that name pop up on her screen, Waverly’s heart skips a beat, even though most of the time it’s just to ask about assignments or talk about the quiz they just took.

She weaves through the bookshelves that tower over her like the walls of a maze until she’s reached the back corner of the library where Nicole sits at a small square table deep in the stacks. Nicole’s back is to Waverly and she wears a dark green flannel with jeans and a pair of black vans. Her hair falls loose over the flannel, ending just above her shoulder blades.

Waverly walks up behind her and places a Tupperware container of cookies on top of the open textbook.

“Surprise!”

Nicole turns to look up at Waverly who’s grinning down at her in a puffy coat that’s much too big for the slight chill outside, but looks cute on her none the less.

“What are these for?”

“Brain food,” Waverly moves to sit in the chair next to Nicole and peels off her coat as she talks, leaving her in a dark grey sweatshirt with her Greek letters stitched across the front and a pair of leggings. “My aunt sent them to me for midterms, I figured they’d make studying for this test a little less horrible.”

Nicole grins at her as she opens the container and takes out a chocolate-chip cookie, “Well tell your aunt I say thanks.” She bites into the cookie and lets out a moan that makes Waverly’s face grow hot. “Oh fuck, that’s good.”

Waverly pulls out her laptop and notebook and kicks off her Ugg boots so she can sit crisscross in the chair. Nicole glances down at her socks that are dotted with smiling jack-o-lanterns and smiles as she slides a cup of coffee across the table.

“I brought the caffeine.”

Waverly takes a sip and hums happily, “What would I ever do without you?”

“You’d fall asleep in class,” Nicole jokes.

Waverly laughs, “Yeah probably.”

The two start studying, going through each chapter and swapping notes until it’s after midnight and Nicole flops her head down on the table in defeat.

“This is impossible,” She groans, her voice muffled by the textbook. “We’ll never get through all of it.”

Waverly crumples up a piece of paper and tosses it at the mess of red hair sprawled out on the table.

“Hey!” Nicole sits up and pouts at Waverly.

“That is not the right attitude! We can do this, we only have,” Waverly flips through the pages of her notebook, “Four chapters left! That’s not so bad.”

Nicole gives her a look that says, _that’s bad_.

“Here, I’ll quiz you on the next one it’s over...” Waverly turns to the next chapter and hesitates for a moment as she reads the chapter title, “Uh, Dating and Attraction.”

Nicole suddenly seems more alert. She rests her chin in her hand and looks at Waverly expectantly, “Okay then, hit me.”

“What’s the mere exposure effect?”

Nicole thinks for a minute before responding. “Something about how much you see someone?”

“Yeah, it’s says that the more often you see a person, the more you tend to like them.”

“So like, if you have a class with someone and see them every other morning, they probably like you?” Nicole’s lip quirks up into a grin.

“No they’re just more likely to.” Waverly’s sweatshirt suddenly feels too hot.

“Ah okay,” Nicole laughs at Waverly’s panicked expression. “My turn.”

Nicole turns to the right chapter and skims the page before settling on a question. She looks up at Waverly and there’s a glint in her eyes. “What’s philematology?”

Waverly furrows her eyebrows together but can’t recall the word’s meaning. “I don’t know, what is it?”

Nicole leans forward across the desk and whispers the answer, “The study of kissing.”

“Oh.” Waverly finds her eyes trialing down to Nicole’s lips and she can’t help but wish they were studying philematology instead of psychology right now. She wants to kiss that stupid smirk right off Nicole’s face, but Waverly’s never been one to make the first move, let alone with a girl. Besides the truth or dare incident with Rosita in the eleventh grade, Waverly doesn’t actually have any experience with girls. She also can’t tell if Nicole is teasing her or flirting with her. Maybe it’s both, but Waverly doesn’t want to risk losing her only friend in Intro to Psychology because she can’t keep it in her pants.

Waverly is pulled out of her thoughts when Nicole continues speaking. “You know, it says here that kissing lowers your blood pressure, stress hormones, and cholesterol.”

“Oh does it now?”

Nicole leans back in her chair and tries to appear casual by flipping the page of her textbook. “Yeah, sounds like it’s pretty good for you.”

“Do you have high blood pressure or something?” Waverly asks.

Nicole smiles at Waverly as she speaks, “No my blood pressure’s great.” Then she does that wink that makes Waverly forget how to breathe, “But it could always be better.”

They continue to quiz each other, each question becoming more flirtatious than the next, until they’re interrupted by a guy approaching their table hollering, “Waves, is that you?”

Waverly whirls her head around to see a boy with close cropped sandy hair in a Sig Ep shirt, jeans, and cowboy boots rounding the corner.

“Hey Champ,” Waverly gives the boy a little wave but prays he’s just saying hi and not coming to talk to them. Unfortunately, the later is exactly what he does.

Champ saunters up to the table and slides into Waverly’s seat, nearly knocking her on the ground. He wraps a muscular arm around her shoulders to steady her and Waverly can see Nicole’s eyebrows shoot up at the implications of the gesture.

“Hey, you still good to come to the date event Saturday?”

 _Oh right._ Waverly said she’d go to the Sig Ep Halloween date event with Champ because Chelsea has a thing for his best friend. She practically begged Waverly to say yes once she found out the two knew each other from high school and that he’d been inviting her to every Sig Ep event since the start of the semester. She’d been so consumed by her midterms all week that she’d completely forgotten she agreed to go.

“Yes, right, of course. Can’t wait.” Waverly hopes her voice doesn’t sound as unconvincing to Champ as it does to her.

“And you got your costume?”

“Uhh-” Waverly does not have her costume.

“Babe,” Waverly cringes, she’s not his babe. “It’s a costume party, I’m going as a CEO and you’re supposed to be my hot secretary.”

Waverly leans back from Champ and stares at him incredulously, she does not remember agreeing to that. Nicole makes a scoffing noise.

“I texted you about this, you liked the message.”

 _Shit_ , Waverly definitely didn’t read the text and just gave it a thumbs up on her way to her government midterm.

“Right, I’ll throw something together, don’t worry.” That seems to appease Champ and he stands to leave.

“I’ll see you on Saturday,” He claps his hands together before he leaves and points at Waverly, “Be ready to get fucked up, it’s gonna be awesome.”

Waverly’s pretty sure her face couldn’t get any redder at this point. Once Champ has disappeared back into the stacks, Waverly chances a glance at Nicole whose disgust is clearly written on her face.

“You’re not seriously dressing up as that man’s slutty secretary, are you?”

She feels like she’s being scolded and it makes Waverly defensive.

“So what if I am?”

Nicole sighs. “Waverly, that’s so degrading.”

Waverly feels a pit form in her stomach. The costume doesn’t sit right with her either and now Nicole’s looking at her like she has no self respect.

She picks at the edge of her notebook as she speaks. “I liked the message without reading it, I didn’t realize that was the costume I was agreeing to.”

“Well maybe you should tell your boyfriend you want to go as something else.” The word _boyfriend_ comes out a little more aggressive than than the rest.

Waverly’s eyes shoot up from her notebook, “He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Does he know that?”

“Yes,” Waverly can hear the uncertainty in her own voice so she continues, “I agreed to go to one date party with him, it’s not like we’re engaged.”

“Whatever you say, Waverly.” Nicole’s shoulders sag slightly and the smile has left her face. “You know, I think we’re done with this chapter, let’s move on.”

“Okay.” Waverly feels like she messed up somehow. The energy between them has completely changed and she wishes she could go back and undo the last five minutes.

They work through the last three chapters until the clock reads 2:00 a.m., the uneasy tension gradually dissipating as the minutes’ tick by.

Now they’re laughing over something stupid and neither of them can explain what makes it so funny, but it leaves their sides hurting and their hearts full.

“I think we’ve officially lost it.” Waverly says, wiping the happy tears from her eyes.

Nicole checks the time on her phone. “It might be time to give up before we get any more delirious.”

Waverly sighs and leans back against her chair. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” She closes her notebook and looks out the window at the dark, empty sidewalks and feels her anxiety creep in. “I thought there’d be more people out tonight because of exams.”

Nicole follows her gaze to the deserted walkway. “How far is your dorm?”

“At least twenty minutes from here, I live on the north side of campus.” Waverly is already dreading her walk home, knowing every little noise is going to make her jump and she’ll be looking over her shoulder the whole time.

“My dorm’s only a block away, you uh-” Nicole fiddles with her pencil while she talks, “You could crash there tonight, if you want.” She looks up at Waverly with wide brown eyes and Waverly wants to scream _yes_ but she tries to remain casual.

“I mean if you don’t mind-”

“I don’t.” Nicole speaks quickly, then clears her throat and talks slower. “I don’t mind. I live in a suite so there’s a couch you can sleep on.”

They pack up their books and Waverly puts that ridiculous coat back on. As they walk through the quiet campus streets Nicole points out constellations and Waverly tips her head back as she walks so she can see the stars, causing her to stumble over the leg of a picnic table. Nicole catches her before she falls and holds on a second longer than necessary. Waverly feels the ghost of Nicole’s hands on her waist the rest of the way.

When they tiptoe into Nicole’s dorm, they’re surprised to find a body already sprawled out on the tiny living room couch.

“I guess we weren’t the only ones having late study session.” Nicole looks at Waverly apologetically. “You can take my bed. I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“What no, I’m not kicking you out of your own bed! I’ll take the floor.” Waverly whispers back, trying not to wake the sleeping stranger.

“You’re not sleeping on the floor.” Nicole argues.

“Well neither are you.”

The girl on the couch mumbles in her sleep and rolls over.

“Fine, we’ll share the bed.” Nicole leads Waverly down the narrow hallway, past two closed doors and stops at the last one. She fits her key into the lock and the door swings open to reveal a tidy but tastefully decorated room with a desk, dresser, miniature fridge, and a twin sized bed tucked in the corner. It’s small, but a lot nicer than Waverly’s room that barely fits two beds and desks and doesn’t leave much space to stand.

Waverly sets her bag down as Nicole flips on the light, illuminating the squares of photos arranged on the right wall in a perfect grid. She walks over to it and smiles at one photograph that shows a small red-haired girl missing her two front teeth, grinning in a too-big softball uniform and struggling to lift a bat that’s nearly as tall as her.

“You were so cute,” Waverly laughs, running her finger just above the picture so as not to smudge it.

Nicole appears behind her and leans over her shoulder to look at the photo. “Are you saying I’m not cute now?” She turns her head to look at Waverly and their noses are centimeters apart.

Waverly sucks in a breath and her eyes dance across Nicole’s face.

“You’re alright, I guess.”

Nicole gasps and steps back. “Just alright?” She walks over to the dresser and starts digging through clothes. “Waverly Earp, I’m offended.” Nicole glances behind her shoulder and smiles at Waverly so the other girl knows she’s joking.

“I just don’t know if cute is the word I’d use.”

“Oh yeah?” Nicole walks over with a folded pair of sleep shorts and a t-shirt. “What word would you use then?”

Nicole’s staring down at Waverly and she starts to regret opening her mouth but it’s too late, there’s no way she’s getting out of the question now. Waverly’s voice comes out just above a whisper, “Beautiful.”

Waverly watches as Nicole’s expression softens and she wants to know what’s going on in her head right now because she’s not saying anything and it’s making Waverly nervous.

“You really think that?” Nicole’s words float through the silence. There’s a slight waver to them that Waverly’s not used to hearing. The redhead was always so confident around her, she assumed the girl knew how attractive she was.

“Yeah, you’re like insanely pretty. Don’t you own a mirror?” Waverly laughs awkwardly to mask her nerves.

“I do, I just,” Nicole twists the string on the sleep shorts around her finger. “I didn’t know _you_ thought I was pretty.”

She looks at Waverly as if waiting for her to say something more, and Waverly can hear her heartbeat thudding in her ears. Now’s her chance to admit that she likes Nicole. They’ve never discussed their sexualities before but Waverly’s seen the pride pin on Nicole’s backpack enough times to figure she’s probably not straight, but the other girl doesn’t know that Waverly’s also into girls. In the back of her head, Waverly knows that Nicole’s waiting for her to confirm that she thinks about her in more than just a friendly way, but for some reason Waverly panics and grabs the clothes from Nicole as she rolls her eyes.

“I have eyes, Nicole.”

Now it’s Nicole’s turn to laugh awkwardly as she runs a hand across the back of her neck and looks off to the side. “Right, well the bathrooms across the hall, you can change there.”

Waverly leans against the bathroom door once its closed and squeezes her eyes shut. Why did she say that? _‘I have eyes, Nicole’. Yeah, no shit, everyone does_. She basically friend zoned the girl she’s had a crush on for the past two months. If she had said something different, would Nicole have kissed her? Was there a chance Nicole actually liked her back? Maybe, but the alternative was too scary. The thought of Nicole rejecting her and having to go the rest of the semester dodging the redhead in lectures out of embarrassment had led Waverly to chicken out.

She dresses quickly and glances in the mirror before exiting the bathroom. She pauses at her reflection, taking in the way the navy and white softball tee hangs down to her thighs, almost covering the little pajama shorts Nicole gave her. Her hair is as wavy as ever, having not bothered to style it all week, and brushes just bellow the blue letters that sit across her chest. Waverly twists and pulls her hair to one side so she can see the other girl’s last name printed boldly on her back. For a moment, she fools herself into believing that Nicole is hers. She can see herself wearing the shirt to softball games and across campus. The thought of actually dating Nicole is intoxicating, but she shakes herself out of it before she becomes caught up in false realities.

It’s awkward at first, when they settle onto the small mattress. Nicole scoots close to the wall to give Waverly as much room as possible, but their arms still brush against one another and Waverly finds it hard to relax with the other girl so close. The clothes, the comforter, even Nicole herself, all have that sweet vanilla scent that makes Waverly’s head dizzy.

Nicole’s voice shatters the silence, “Are you nervous?”

Waverly freezes, feeling exposed. “What?”

“For the test, are you nervous about it?”

She lets out a sigh of relief before rolling over on her side to face Nicole. “A little, but I think we’re prepared. Are you?”

“Yeah,” Nicole looks at Waverly hesitantly before continuing, “I get really bad test anxiety sometimes. It’s dumb I know…”

“It’s not,” Waverly reaches out and tucks a strand of hair that’s fallen in front of Nicole’s face behind her ear. “I have social anxiety,” Waverly admits.

Nicole looks surprised. “You do? But you’re so talkative and bubbly.”

Waverly laughs, “Yeah because I talk a lot when I’m nervous.”

“Oh,” Nicole considers this for a moment, “You must be nervous all the time then.”

Waverly groans and hides her face in the pillow. “Do I really talk that much?”

“Kind of.” Waverly feels like she just about wants to die until Nicole speaks again. “But I think it’s cute.”

Waverly lifts her head and squints her eyes at Nicole, “You’re just trying to make me feel better.”

“I’m not,” Nicole shakes her head, “I like listening to you talk.”

Waverly smiles at Nicole and before her brain can tell her to stop, she leans across the pillow and places a quick kiss on her cheek.

“You’re going to ace the test tomorrow, I know it,” She whispers before settling back down on her half of the pillow. She turns to face the opposite side of the room to conceal her blushing cheeks, causing her to miss the huge grin that’s spread across Nicole’s face from her kiss.

The last thing Waverly hears before her tired body pulls her to sleep is Nicole whispering, “So are you, Waves.”

The next morning, the girls scramble out of bed at the sound of Nicole’s alarm, but not before untangling their limbs that somehow become entwined during the night. They don’t talk about it, but they’re the only college students smiling on the way to an 8:00 a.m. exam.

They both ace it.


	5. Chapter 5

**November**

Waverly takes a sip of beer and winces at the taste. Beer is not her favorite, especially when it’s frat beer which means it’s the cheapest stuff you can buy. She powers through though, not wanting to be the only sober one amongst her friends at the game, two of which are currently shot-gunning beers while a group of guys cheer them on.

She wraps her arms tighter around her body, trying to fend off the cold and regretting her decision to wear only a tight long-sleeved shirt with her denim skirt and thigh-high boots. It’s only the first weekend in November, but the air already has an unforgiving bite to it. Waverly had tried to walk out of their dorm in her winter jacket, but Chelsea had forced the extra garment off of her and insisted that, “Hoes don’t get cold.”

 _Well this hoe is cold_. Not that Waverly considers herself a hoe.

While Waverly waits for her two friends to finish their shot-gunning and her roommate to come back from the restroom, a highly intoxicated frat boy stumbles over to her from across the lawn. His eyes rake over her body in a way that makes her feel sick.

She hates that one leering look from a man can make her feel ashamed for wearing an outfit she once thought was cute. Waverly knows the top fits her body in a way that highlights her curves and there’s a strip of thigh exposed where her skirt ends and her boots have yet to begin, but her outfit is no more revealing than anything the other girls at the tailgate are wearing. It’s the way the guy looks at her that makes her suddenly feel trashy.

“Hey baby, what’s your name?” The boy slurs, a beer in his right hand and the other reaching for Waverly’s waist.

Waverly twists to dodge his arm but she’s too polite to completely ignore him so she tells him her name but tries to look as uninterested as possible. He’s not bad looking, in another context she might even think he was cute, but right now he’s drunk off his ass and looking at her like she’s a piece of meat. She couldn’t be more turned off.

“Whoa there, I’m just trying to be friendly.” The guy keeps coming closer and Waverly can smell the beer on his breath as he gets up in her face. “What’s the matter, sweetheart?”

Waverly feels like gagging but keeps her face neutral, stepping back with each advance and desperately scanning the crowd for Chelsea’s platinum-blonde curls.

“Nothing, I’m just waiting for my-” Waverly is about to say _friend_ when her eyes land on a girl walking nearby and she grabs her by the edge of her denim jacket, pulling her into her side, “- _girlfriend_.”

A baffled Nicole stares down at Waverly who has circled her arms around the taller girl’s middle and is currently leaning her head against her shoulder. Nicole only hesitates for a second before she’s wrapping an arm around Waverly’s back and playing along.

“Hey babe,” The term of endearment flows out of Nicole’s mouth so effortlessly, it makes Waverly’s stomach flutter. “Who’s this?”

The guy previously trying to make a move on Waverly stares at the two with a confused look on his face like he’s trying to work out a really difficult math equation.

“I’m Josh.” He makes no move to leave and his eyes keep darting between Waverly and Nicole. “There’s no way you two are gay, you’re way too hot.”

Waverly can feel Nicole tense against her. “Well there’s no way you got into college, you seem way too stupid, yet here we are.”

Waverly has to bite down on her lip, hard, to stop herself from bursting out laughing at Nicole’s comeback.

Josh still hasn’t gotten the hint that neither girl wants to continue talking to him. “If you really are a couple, then prove it.” He licks his lips while he looks at them and Waverly feels repulsed. She holds on tighter to Nicole, comforted by her steady presence.

Nicole scoffs, “No.”

Josh seems taken aback by her bluntness. Before he has a chance to respond, Nicole speaks again, “Dude, just leave.”

“Yeah well, my friends are probably looking for me,” He says, like it was his idea to leave, then walks off into the crowd, his body swaying slightly with each step.

Nicole tilts her head down to look at Waverly. “I don’t think they’re looking for him, do you?” She jokes.

Waverly laughs and presses her face into the fabric of Nicole’s shirt before she realizes there’s no need for them to stay like this now that Josh and his toxic masculinity have left.

She quickly steps out of the embrace and runs a hand through her hair. “Thanks for going along with that, I kind of put you on the spot there.”

“Oh it’s cool, he seemed like a douche.”

Now that Waverly’s no longer in her arms, Nicole shoves her hands in the pockets of her jacket. The outside is denim but the inside is lined with wool and Waverly already misses the warmth of having her arms tucked under the soft lining.

She takes in Nicole’s entire outfit now that they’re facing one another. She’s wearing a pair of black jeans with a few rips scattered about the legs, white Adidas, and her university softball shirt. There’s a navy and white “I love the Outlaws” pin on the front pocket of Nicole’s jacket. Waverly’s also repping their school, but more subtly, with her navy blouse and little dangly cowboy hat earrings.

Waverly nods her head in agreement, “A major douche.”

“Why did you go with the girlfriend excuse?” Nicole asks. “Not that I mind, I just figure it’d be easier to pretend you have to go to the restroom or something than pretend you’re gay.”

The alcohol must be kicking in because Waverly finds herself answering confidently, “I didn’t pretend to be gay, I just pretended to have a girlfriend. There’s a difference.”

Waverly can tell Nicole’s trying hard to suppress a smile, “So you are gay?”

“Technically, I’m bi, but yeah.” Waverly finishes off her beer and tosses it into a nearby trashcan before stepping closer to Nicole. “Why do you ask?”

There’s a full smile on Nicole’s face now that can’t be hidden. “Oh no reason, just curious.” Nicole looks at Waverly like she expects her to say something but the brunette remains quiet. “Aren’t you going to ask if I’m gay?”

“Nope,” Waverly fixes the collar on Nicole’s jacket that’s become askew, “I don’t ask people what their sexuality is.”

There’s panic written across Nicole’s face before Waverly laughs. “I’m kidding, I saw the pin on your backpack doofus, I sort of figured you were gay.”

“What if I’m just a really supportive ally?” Nicole counters.

Waverly crosses her arms over her chest and raises her eyebrows. “Are you?”

“No, you’re right, I’m huge lesbian.”

Waverly’s not sure where she’s getting all this new found confidence from, maybe the three shots of vodka and the natty lite, but she continues her banter with Nicole. “I didn’t realize lesbians came in different sizes, are there medium ones too?”

Nicole laughs, “Okay smartass, do you want to go watch the game or just stand here and make fun of me?”

The tailgate has mostly cleared out, the students dispersing as kickoff grows closer, though Waverly only now notices. She spots her friends standing near the edge of the lawn, clearly waiting for her, and takes Nicole’s hand.

“Sit with my friends and I?” Waverly doesn’t give Nicole a chance to respond before she’s lightly pulling her across the grass and over to the huddle of sorority girls.

“Yeah okay, I’ll just text my friends and tell them to meet me after.”

Waverly hadn’t actually considered that Nicole came to the tailgate with other people, seeing as she’d first spotted her walking alone. She stops abruptly and Nicole almost runs into her.

“I mean you don’t have to... You can go with your friends.”

Nicole shakes her head, “No I want to, I see those idiots all the time I’d rather watch the game with you.”

There’s a warm feeling spreading in Waverly’s chest from more than just the alcohol working its way through her system. She squeezes Nicole’s hand before walking again, “Cool.”

Waverly quickly introduces Nicole to her friends before the five of them head off in the direction of the stadium. She’s no longer holding Nicole’s hand, the redhead started chatting with one of her friends that’s also pre-law, so she falls in step next to Chelsea.

The blonde leans over to whisper in Waverly’s ear, the unmistakable smell of vodka wafting off her lips, “Is that _psychology_ Nicole?” She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively.

Waverly shushes her friend and tells her to lower her voice since Nicole’s only a few paces in front of them.

“But yes, that’s her,” She mumbles under her breath.

Chelsea squeals and starts poking Waverly in the side but she swats the other girl’s hands away. “Hey hey, be cool.”

Her roommate throws her head back in laughter. “I love you Waves, but you’re not cool, not even close.”

Waverly bumps her shoulder against Chelsea’s as they stand in the line to enter the stadium. “You’re an asshole.”

She doesn’t mean it though, she’s actually really glad to have a friend like Chelsea who not only doesn’t care that Waverly likes girls, but also wants to hear all about her silly crushes, no matter the gender.

Nicole stands next to Waverly during the game and she buys them a popcorn to split during halftime. Whenever Waverly teeters on the edge of the bleachers, Nicole steadies her by placing a hand lightly on her hip. At some point during the game, Waverly once again loses her balance and Nicole doesn’t take her arm away after. It almost feels like a date, except that they’re surrounded by hundreds of screaming college students.

The game is a close one and they’re tied with one minute left in the fourth quarter. Their entire half of the stadium seems to be holding their breath as the ball is thrown towards the running back. He catches the ball and starts racing towards the end zone, the crowd’s yelling intensifying with every yard down.

Waverly grabs Nicole’s arm and starts chanting, “Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod.”

The player crosses into the end zone just as the clock reaches four seconds and the stadium erupts in screams. Nicole turns to smile at Waverly and the brunette wraps her arms around the taller girl’s neck, tackling her in a hug.

Nicole’s arms circle Waverly’s waist and she lifts her until the tips of her boots leave the metal bleachers. Waverly laughs, the kind that bursts from your lungs out of pure, unbridled joy, and she tightens her grip on Nicole’s shoulders.

After a minute, Nicole sets her down so the two don’t tumble off the bleachers and into the crowd, but she keeps her arms around Waverly’s waist.

Adrenalin courses through Waverly’s veins and she has half a mind to grab Nicole’s face and kiss her right there in the middle of the bleachers, but she doesn’t. There’s people everywhere and students are already squeezing between the rows trying to beat the crowd out of the stadium, nearly knocking them over as they pass, so Waverly just stands on her tiptoes and speaks into Nicole’s ear.

“You should come to the party after.”

“What party?” She can barely hear Nicole over the roar of the crowd.

“I think my friends wanted to go to Sig Ep.”

“Oh.”

Waverly pulls back at the sound of Nicole’s voice and studies her face, fearing that she’s misread this whole situation and that Nicole’s not actually into her. “Do you not want to go? That’s okay, I understand, you can just-”

Nicole leans forward and positions her head on the side of Waverly’s so the shorter girl can hear her, “I want to go, I do, I just- I don’t know if I want to go to _that_ party.”

“Okay...” Waverly is still uncertain.

“A few of my friends are going to a party at this house where some of the girls from my team live, could we go there?”

Waverly’s stomach dances with anticipation. She’s going to a party with Nicole, _psychology_ Nicole, who’s currently got her arms around her and is so close, she can feel the other girl’s heartbeat thud against her chest.

“Sure, I’ll go anywhere.” _I’ll go anywhere as long as it’s with you_ , she thinks.

Nicole flashes her a smile and steps off their bleacher. She holds out a hand for Waverly and helps her hop down to the isle. Waverly quickly tells her friends that she’s going to a different party with Nicole and Chelsea makes sure their locations are still shared with each other before she kisses Waverly’s cheek and tells her to “go get the girl”.

As they wind their way through students and football fans, Waverly has to grab on to the bottom of Nicole’s jacket in order to not to loose her in the crowd. Eventually, they emerge from the masses and the cold air feels refreshing for the first couple of blocks. Waverly rambles on about what an _amazing_ game that was, and how she _just couldn’t believe_ that last play. Nicole simply smiles and listens, leading them out of the main campus and towards the section that contains most of student housing.

Soon Waverly is shivering again. Nicole notices and shrugs her jacket off and places it over Waverly’s shoulders, leaving her in only a thin three-quarters length shirt. She’s bound to be freezing in it, but Nicole doesn’t show it. The shorter girl smiles over at her gratefully and slips her arms through the sleeves.

As they near the location of the party, pounding base can be heard from multiple houses and college students are scattered throughout the sidewalks, whooping and shouting in navy and white. It appears the entire campus is celebrating tonight’s win.

Her buzz from earlier has mostly worn off after the long game and half-time snack, but Waverly feels drunk off their win and the cool night air and the way Nicole looks at her as she dances through the streets.

Waverly’s a few feet ahead of Nicole, despite the fact that she has no idea where they’re headed, and she twirls as she walks. The arms of Nicole’s jacket fan out around her as she spins, the sleeves ending several inches past her finger tips.

Nicole laughs at her antics and it might just be the purest sound Waverly’s ever heard. They reach the end of the side walk and Nicole races to catch up with Waverly, grabbing her hand and gradually slowing her latest spin to a stop.

“Whoa,” Waverly sways for a minute, dizzy from all the twirling, and grasps on to Nicole’s arm until the world stops tipping.

“We’re here.” Nicole tilts her head towards a narrow two-story house that sits on the corner. Colorful lights spill out of the windows and the lyrics to a popular rap song vibrate off the wood panels. “Are you good?”

Waverly rotates her hand in Nicole’s and threads their fingers together. “I’m great, let’s go,” and with that she marches across the lawn and up the steps of the house, Nicole in tow. It’s not until they’re standing just outside the door that Waverly remembers she doesn’t know anyone at this party besides Nicole.

“You’re not gonna leave me, right?” Waverly rushes out before Nicole can open the door.

Nicole looks at Waverly with soft eyes, “I will stay by your side the entire night, if that’s what you want.”

“That’s what I want.”

The smile Nicole gives her sets off another round of butterflies in her stomach and Nicole gently rubs her thumb over the back of her hand. “Then I promise I won’t leave you.”

“Good.” Waverly gives Nicole’s hand a squeeze, then pushes the door open and enters the packed house.

Waverly follows Nicole’s lead once they’re inside. The taller girl weaves through dancing bodies and beer pong tables until she reaches a back hallway and opens one of the doors. They’re met with a chorus of, “Nicole!” and “Finally decided to join us, huh?” as Nicole’s friends usher the two into the cramped bedroom.

There’s about eight of them, some guys, some girls, lounging in various locations around the room. There’s a large bottle of Svedka resting on a coffee table in the center of the room, a deck of cards fanning out around the bottle.

Nicole hugs a few of them as the door swings shut, then she places her hand on the small of Waverly’s back and brings her forward into the room. “Guys this is Waverly, my uh-” Nicole pauses, as if trying to figure out what exactly Waverly is to her, before settling on “-my friend.”

One of the girls in a football jersey and beanie whistles before the girl next to her shoves the beanie down over her face, shushing her. Waverly’s cheeks go pink. She has a feeling everyone in the room assumes they’re not just friends. She’s still wearing Nicole’s jacket after all and the redhead has yet to remove her hand from around her back, not that Waverly’s complaining or anything.

A guy with dark, curly hair sitting on the bed to her right takes mercy on her and extends his hand to Waverly, introducing himself as Jeremy and the taller boy beside him as Robin. Waverly smiles and shakes their hands, she already has a feeling she’s going to like these two.

“We’re about to play king’s cup, if you guys want to join.” A girl informs them from the other end of the room, she’s got glossy brown hair and is sitting on the lap of a guy in a swim team sweatshirt.

Nicole looks at Waverly before answering, silently asking her if she wants to play.

“Sure,” Waverly says, moving to sit on the floor in front of the coffee table and tucking her legs to one side. Nicole sits down next to her and everyone in the room arranges themselves so they’re in reaching distance of the little table.

The girl who just spoke gets up and starts passing out red solo cups and grabs three different mixers from the mini-fridge that make their way around the circle along with the Svedka. She sets one empty cup in the middle of the cards, where the bottle of vodka used to sit. From the way she moves around the room, Waverly can assume she’s the one who lives here.

Nicole leans over to Waverly and whispers in her ear, “That’s Jess, she’s a junior on the softball team, and that’s her boyfriend Matt,” Nicole nods towards the guy whose lap the older girl was previously sitting in. She then proceeds to whisper the names of everyone in the room that Waverly hasn’t been introduced to. Waverly learns that the other three girls are also from the softball team, including the one in the beanie, and the last guy is one of Matt’s friends from high school.

Once Nicole finishes the crash course in her friends, the drinks have reached them and Waverly makes herself a vodka sprite before passing the bottle to Nicole. The other girl choses coke as her mixer.

“I haven’t played this since high school,” Waverly admits, “I’m not sure I remember all the rules.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you,” Nicole reassures Waverly, her breath hitting the brunette’s ear and making her shiver.

The game begins and Jess draws a four. All the girls drink from their cups and Waverly follows suit. Next up is Matt who picks a seven and suddenly everyone’s hands are shooting up. Before Waverly has time to process what’s happening, Nicole grabs her arm and raises it along with her own.

“Seven is heaven, last person to raise their hand drinks.” Nicole explains.

Jeremy ends up having to drink and Waverly smiles at Nicole, “Thanks.”

The next girl draws a five and everyone holds up three fingers. Waverly remembers this one, it’s never have I ever, first one to run out of fingers drinks.

The girl who drew the card starts, “Never have I ever had an edible.”

More than half of the room puts a finger down, including Waverly. Nicole raises her eyebrows at the brunette.

“Prom night, not a good idea,” Waverly laughs at the memory of being high for the first time in her high school gymnasium and being convinced she was going to get arrested by their vice principle. That night she learned weed makes her paranoid and has stuck to alcohol since.

The next one neither of them has done. Then it’s Robin’s turn and he thinks for a moment before saying, “Never have I ever slept with more than one person in the same night.”

Waverly keeps her two fingers up and watches as Matt’s friend puts a finger down and the swimmer slaps him on the back before his girlfriend gives him a look that says, _don’t encourage it_ , and he quickly stops. Waverly’s laughing at the exchange until the girl in the beanie, who she now knows is named Max, points at Nicole and says, “Bitch, don’t lie, put a finger down!”

Nicole’s face turns scarlet and she hesitantly lowers a finger, giving Max a pointed glare for calling her out. Waverly gapes at Nicole. She knew the girl was confident and a little flirty, but she hadn’t taken Nicole for a player. Now she feels kind of stupid, of course Nicole gets lots of girls, she’s tall and beautiful and has those eyes that would make any girl melt.

“It’s not what it sounds like,” Nicole reassures Waverly, her cheeks matching the color of her hair.

Waverly wants to believe her, but the doubts have already started to creep in and they won’t leave. What if Waverly isn’t interesting enough for Nicole? She’s probably got a dozen names in her phone of girls she can call up that are all more experienced than her. What if she brought Waverly to this party to hook up with her for the night and then never speak to her again? The anxious thoughts keep coming and Waverly misses the next round entirely.

Nicole must have noticed her distressed silence because she leans closer to Waverly and speaks quietly, “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Waverly lies, running her finger along the rim of her cup.

Nicole’s hand slides over the one that’s propping Waverly up and her touch causes Waverly’s heartrate to spike, despite the protests from her brain.

“I’ll tell you the story later, but I promise it’s not what you think,” Nicole’s words are gentle but Waverly can’t help but be embarrassed that the other girl knows that’s what made her upset.

“Okay,” Waverly says. Nicole keeps her hand over Waverly’s and slowly traces patterns on her skin. It has a calming effect on Waverly and her fears start to fade into the background, though they don’t disappear entirely.

Suddenly, everyone’s looking at her and Waverly experiences a moment of panic until she realizes it’s her turn.

“Uh, never have I ever seen the ocean?”

Everyone puts a finger down and Nicole turns to her, “Are you serious? You’ve never been to the beach?”

Waverly feels sheepish, “Yeah, is that surprising?”

Nicole doesn’t answer her question but keeps looking at her like she just announced that she’s never seen the sky or doesn’t know how to breathe air. “I love the beach.”

“Well I want to go, I just… never have.”

Nicole knows Waverly’s from a small town but she doesn’t know that Waverly’s here on a scholarship, she even got one for her sorority, the only way she could afford to join, and her family’s just never had the extra money to splurge on a vacation to the beach. Whenever they do have extra money, it goes to fixing the car, or paying for Waverly’s books, not trips to the Florida coast.

“We’ll have to change that.”

Waverly feels hope flutter in her chest, _Nicole wants to take me to the beach_. It could just be a silly comment, but Waverly lets herself believe that maybe the redhead means it.

Matt’s friend runs out of fingers first and the game continues. When it’s Waverly’s turn to pick a card, she draws an eight.

“Pick a mate,” Someone yells and Waverly remembers she has to choose a drinking partner for the rest of the game, and each time one of them drinks, so does the other.

She looks over at Nicole and smiles sweetly, “Drink up.”

Nicole grins, “I’m your mate?”

“Yup,” Waverly taps her cup against Nicole’s and they both take a drink.

Waverly thinks she sees one of Nicole’s teammates roll her eyes, the one with the blonde pixie cute and upturned nose, but she figures she saw wrong since she doesn’t even know the girl.

They play for another twenty minutes until the center cup is nearly full with an unsightly concoction of different people’s drinks and Waverly can feel the familiar warmth throughout her body that indicates she’s getting tipsy.

It’s Nicole’s turn and she flips over a card to reveal the last king. Nicole buries her face in her hands and groans as the others cheer and Max grabs the middle cup and hands it over.

Nicole stares down at the mixture with distaste and takes a deep breath before she starts chugging. She makes it halfway through before she has to stop.

“Oh god, who put whiskey in this?” She looks around the circle accusingly and Jeremy tires to hide a bottle of fireball behind his back.

“Jeremy!”

The kid looks genuinely scared as Nicole glares at him and it makes Waverly laugh. She takes the cup out of Nicole’s hand and the redhead gives her a confused looked, “Waves, what are you doing?”

“I’m your mate, so we can share the king’s cup,” She says as she starts downing the rest of the offensive drink.

“Hey, that’s not a rule!” Someone protests as Waverly drinks.

She sets the cup down and scrunches her face at the aftertaste. Waverly looks up and shrugs, “I made it a rule.”

Nicole beams at her and kisses her on the cheek. “Thanks for saving me.”

Most of Nicole’s friends seem unbothered by Waverly’s change in rules, except for that one blonde girl who Waverly’s starting to feel like has some sort of beef with her that she’s unaware of.

Waverly knows she’s blushing at Nicole’s display of affection but she doesn’t care.

“I couldn’t have you blacking out on me, you _are_ the only person I know here after all.”

Nicole rolls her eyes at the brunette, “Uh huh sure, that’s it.”

Now that the game’s over, some people start making their way out of the bedroom and back to the rest of the party. Nicole stands and pulls Waverly up after her just as Jeremy and Robin walk over and start talking with them. Waverly learns that Robin’s on the swim team with Matt and that he and Jeremey, a biomedical engineering major, have been dating for a month now. They chat with the boys for a bit until Nicole puts her lips to Waverly’s ear and whispers, “Come dance with me”.

As much as Waverly’s enjoying Jeremy and Robin’s company, Nicole doesn’t have to ask her twice to go dance. She’s been dying to dance with the other girl all night. They excuse themselves from the conversation and head towards the living room, leaving Nicole’s jacket draped over one of the chairs to grab at the end of the night.

Waverly finds herself in the midst of a bunch of dancing college kids. Some are hopping up and down and punching the air, others are grinding on each other in a way that’s borderline pornographic, and music bounces off the walls lit only by blue lights that have been strung up around the perimeter. The room’s been cleared of furniture, who knows where they’ve stashed it for the night, yet there’s hardly any free space from all of the bodies on the dance floor.

The lack of space causes Waverly to dance practically on top of Nicole, but she doesn’t mind. With each song, the girls move closer until Nicole’s hands are on Waverly’s waist and Waverly’s threading her arms around the back of Nicole’s neck. Waverly sways her hips in time with the music and Nicole looks at her like she’s the only girl in the room with eyes so dark, they’ve nearly gone black.

They’re so close now, their foreheads are almost touching. Waverly bites down on her bottom lip and gazes up at Nicole with a look that screams, _kiss me, damn it_. Nicole must understand her silent pleas because she’s tilting her head and her hand slides up Waverly’s back, pulling her impossibly closer until their lips are about to meet. Waverly can’t quite believe it’s happening until suddenly, it’s not.

A drunken girl stumbles into Waverly, knocking her out of Nicole’s arms and into some guy with mullet. Waverly tries to reorient herself but she doesn’t need to because Nicole’s there within seconds, reaching for her and asking if she’s okay.

Waverly lets out a frustrated huff, “No, I’m not okay.” _Because some girl just ruined our moment,_ she thinks, _a moment I’ve been waiting for all semester_.

The fear in Nicole’s face is evident. She quickly drops Waverly’s arms and takes a step back. Waverly realizes Nicole must think her advances were unwanted and panics.

“God, no! I didn’t mean...” Waverly can’t find the right words and she can tell Nicole’s slipping away from her with each passing second.

_Screw this._

Waverly finds one of Nicole’s hands and starts tugging her through the crowd. They end up in one of the house’s dark hallways and Waverly spins around to face the redhead.

“Waverly, wha-”

Nicole doesn’t get a chance to finish her sentence because Waverly’s fisting her hands in the fabric of her t-shirt and pulling the taller girl to her. She connects their lips the moment Nicole’s body is close enough and Waverly doesn’t have time to second guess herself because all she can think about is Nicole, and how every particle of her being just wants to be close to her.

It takes Nicole only a moment to get over her initial shock before she’s kissing Waverly back and guiding her towards the wall until the smaller girl’s back hits the wood paneling with a _thud_.

Nicole wraps one arm around Waverly’s lower back while the other reaches up to cup the side of her face, allowing her to deepen the kiss and sending Waverly’s heart into overdrive.

Waverly’s hands have released their hold on Nicole’s shirt and slide upwards to rest on strong shoulders. The hand on her face falls and joins the other one on her waist as both girls pull each other closer until they can feel one another’s heartbeats pounding against their own.

The kisses are hot and fast and happen in quick succession until they can’t go on any longer without first pausing to breathe.

Nicole rests her head against Waverly’s as they both take shallow breaths. Waverly’s eyes stay closed at first and she runs a hand up the back of Nicole’s neck and into her hair before speaking.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for months,” She admits as her eyes flutter open, her voice breathless.

“Me too.” Nicole brushes her nose against Waverly’s. It’s a small movement that Waverly finds incredibly endearing.

“I kind of want to do it again,” Waverly says.

Nicole smiles and whispers, “Me too,” as she tilts her head to reconnect their lips.

This kiss is slower, less frantic and more deliberate. It makes Waverly weak in the knees but there’s no chance of her falling with Nicole pressed up against her. She hears someone walk by and give an appreciative whistle but Waverly pays them no mind. The feeling of Nicole’s lips on her own and Nicole’s body flush against her is all consuming.

Waverly’s unsure how much time passes in that dimly lit hallway, but by the time they finally manage to pull themselves apart, the crowd in the living room has started to thin. Nicole tangles her hand in Waverly’s and swings it in the small space that’s been created between them.

“Should we have one last dance before they start kicking everyone out?” Nicole asks, the smile never leaving her face.

The current song ends and the beginning notes of Mr. Brightside can be heard drifting down the hall. Waverly’s eyes light up, “We should,” She says and follows Nicole back onto the dance floor where the remaining partiers have all gathered to the sound of The Killers song.

Waverly found it odd at first, the way every college kid seemed to know all of the lyrics to this song that, when you actually listen to it, is quite sad. She doesn’t think she’s attended a single party where the number hasn’t been blasted at the end of the night, and now she knows every word too.

They’re dancing and yelling the lyrics when a few of Nicole’s friends find them in the crowd. Jeremy starts doing the dorkiest assortment of moves Waverly’s ever seen and she loves it. She joins him and they mimic each other’s crazy moves until they’re laughing so hard they can no longer dance. Waverly turns to find Nicole watching her with a smile that lights up her entire face and she finds her way back to the redhead.

_It started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this? It was only a kiss…_

A chorus of voices sing along with the song and Waverly rises up on the toes of her boots so she and Nicole are eye to eye as she mouths the next line, _“It was only a kiss.”_ She connects their lips and the rest of the party fades away. They’re the only two standing still in the middle of a pack of dancing bodies, but Waverly feels like she’s floating.

What Waverly doesn’t see is the girl leaning against the back wall, a cup clenched in her hand as she glares at the two girls kissing in the center of the room.

_But she’s touching his chest now, he takes off her dress now…_

The songs swells and the pretty girl with the short blonde hair grips her plastic cup so hard it splits down the sides and punch spills onto her shoes. She huffs in frustration and throws the broken cup to the ground before shoving her way out of the party and into the night.

Waverly and Nicole pull apart and their eyes are trained only on each other, smiling stupidly. They rejoin the masses for the end of the song and Waverly feels like she’s dancing on the moon. When the party finally disperses, they retrieve Nicole’s jacket and start the long trek to Waverly’s dorm. Nicole insists on walking Waverly back even though it doubles the length of her own walk.

The jacket is once again on Waverly’s shoulders and they walk slowly, hands entwined, savoring the last moments they have together before they part ways. There’s enough people out celebrating the win that they don’t feel anxious as they wind their way through the dark streets.

They reach Waverly’s dorm and pause just before the back entrance under the branches of a large oak tree.

“I had a great time tonight,” Nicole says, fiddling with the buttons on the jacket wrapped around Waverly.

“So did I.” Waverly rocks back on her heels nervously, suddenly shy around the other girl now that they’ve left the charged atmosphere of the party.

Nicole looks like she’s considering something and her eyes dart across Waverly’s face. Then she’s stepping forward confidently and placing one hand on her waist while the other comes up to gently cup her face.

“I’m going to kiss you now,” Nicole says, waiting for Waverly to respond before moving any closer.

“Okay,” Waverly sighs, letting her eyes drift closed in anticipation.

The kiss is soft and sweet. It has none of the urgency or fever of the previous ones but it makes Waverly’s head spin none the less.

Nicole pulls away just barely and whispers, “Goodnight,” before placing one final peck on Waverly’s lips and stepping back.

“Text me, when you get back,” Waverly urges, wishing the redhead didn’t have to walk through campus alone at this hour, even with so many people out.

Nicole assures Waverly that she’ll be safe and send her a message once she’s in her dorm, then starts making her way down the concrete path and towards the heart of campus. Waverly watches her walk and admires the way the number 12 glints off her back under the streetlights when she realizes she still has the other girl’s jacket.

Waverly runs after her shouting, “Nicole, wait! Your jacket!”

Nicole spins around and shakes her head, “Keep it.”

“But-” Waverly starts to argue but Nicole cuts her off.

“You can give it back to me on our date.”

Waverly smiles, “Our date?”

“Yeah, what are you doing tomorrow?” Nicole walks slowly backwards as she talks.

“Absolutely nothing,” Waverly answers, her heart threatening to beat out of her chest.

“Then I’ll pick you up at 6:00.” Nicole flashes her one last brilliant smile before turning to continue her walk home, leaving Waverly alone outside her dorm, smiling underneath the stars.

Waverly changes into her pajamas quietly so as not to wake her roommate who is passed out on her comforter, still wearing her clothes from the game. Just as she’s climbing into bed she spots Nicole’s jacket folded neatly on her desk chair and pulls it on. She sinks under the covers and curls up in a cocoon of denim and soft wool, letting the sweet scent of perfume wash over her and lull her to sleep where she dreams of dancing through the night sky in Nicole’s arms.


	6. Chapter 6

**December**

“Why is everyone so mean to Rudolph?”

Nicole laughs and runs a hand through the brown waves sprawled across her chest, “I don’t know baby, but they’re nice to him in the end.”

Waverly pokes her girlfriend in the side, “That’s a spoiler!”

“You’ve seen this!”

Waverly sighs, “Yeah, I know.”

They watch the movie in silence until Nicole speaks again, “They’re mean to him because he doesn’t fit their idea of normal.”

“Normal’s overrated.”

Nicole’s hand moves from Waverly’s hair to her arm, her fingertips drifting up and down in a soothing motion. “It is,” She agrees.

The laptop nearly falls off Nicole’s lap as Waverly pushes herself up and twists to face the girl who was previously being used as her pillow.

“If I had a shiny red nose, would you still like me?”

Nicole can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the question and Waverly pouts, “I’m serious.”

The redhead rolls her eyes. “Yes, I’d still like you.”

Waverly squints at Nicole, one hand resting on the blue fabric of her sweatshirt, the other propping herself up, “I don’t believe you.”

Nicole shuts the laptop and pushes it to the side before flipping Waverly onto her back, switching their positions. Waverly gasps as her head hits the pillow and Nicole leans down to place a lingering kiss on her cheek.

“I would like you,” She speaks slowly, moving up to press a kiss to Waverly’s forehead next, “even if,” now she’s kissing the other cheek, “you had a shiny red nose”. Her last kiss is on the tip of Waverly’s nose.

Waverly laughs, “That’s better”. She circles her arms around Nicole’s waist and pulls her down for a real kiss.

Nicole obliges, the Christmas movie momentarily forgotten as the two get lost in one another. Waverly slips her hands underneath the sweatshirt and glides them up Nicole’s bare back, causing the taller girl to hum against her lips. Nicole hooks her finger in the strap of Waverly’s tank top and slips it off her shoulder, shifting to kiss down her neck and across her exposed collarbone. Waverly lets out a contented sigh, high off the feeling of Nicole’s lips on her skin.

They’re so consumed by each other, that neither of them notices the click of a key being fit into its lock until the door is swinging open to reveal a mortified Chelsea.

“Jesus Christ, get a room you two!” The blonde dramatically covers her eyes with her hand, letting her book bag drop to the ground.

Nicole quickly sits up and Waverly readjusts the strap of her top, her face hot.

“This _is_ my room,” Waverly counters. She grabs a water bottle off her night stand and chugs it, trying to cool herself down.

“Well it’s my room too, so warn a girl next time, okay? Are you two decent yet?”

Chelsea still has the hand over her eyes and Waverly tosses a throw pillow at her roommate, “Yes, but we were never _indecent_.”

The blonde picks up the pillow and fluffs it before placing it on her own bed, “That’s a matter of opinion.”

“Don’t you have class right now?” Waverly questions, checking the time.

Chelsea smirks, “I do, but there are more important things than British Literature at the moment, like picking up my dress for semi-formal.” She grabs her keys from her desk and does an excited shimmy.

A pit of dread starts forming in Waverly’s stomach and she wills her roommate to stop talking but the other girl is unaware of her friend’s distress.

Chelsea grabs a new coat from her closet and continues, “Speaking of semi, we need to figure out what we’re doing beforehand. Kennedy and her date suggested burgers, but that’s _so_ not classy enough for semi-formal…”

Waverly watches the confusion grow on Nicole’s face and she feels like sinking into the mattress the longer Chelsea talks.

“…So I was thinking Italian and I’m expecting you guys to back me up on that.”

Chelsea finishes her speech and turns to look at the other girls for the first time, registering their silence. “What, you don’t like Italian?”

“I uh,” Nicole runs an awkward hand through her hair, “didn’t know you guys were having a semi-formal.”

Chelsea gives Waverly an incredulous look, “Waves! It’s in a week, how have you not asked your girlfriend yet?”

“I forgot,” Waverly says, not meeting Nicole’s eyes.

Chelsea shakes her head, “What would you do with out me? Well, let me know about dinner because I want to make the reservation by tonight.” She puts her hand on the doorknob, about to leave. “I’ll be gone for about an hour so y’all can get back to whatever it is you were doing before I interrupted,” She waves her hand around in their direction, the keys jingling, then exits the room.

The door slams shut behind her, leaving Waverly and Nicole in silence.

“You didn’t forget, did you?” Nicole asks quietly.

Waverly finally looks up and she can see the hurt in the other girl’s face. It makes her heart twist and she’s feels a wave of guilt wash over her.

“I meant to ask you, I did. I just- I didn’t even know if you’d want to go…” She picks at a loose thread on her comforter, unable to keep looking at those sad brown eyes.

“Of course I want to go,” Nicole says, hugging her legs to her chest, “Why did you think I wouldn’t?”

“I don’t know, I thought you thought sorority stuff was dumb, and you said Greek life was a misogynistic cult.”

“Did I say that?” Nicole rubs a hand on the back of her neck, appearing embarrassed.

“You definitely said that.”

The other girl sighs and reaches for Waverly’s hand, “Anything that you like, I don’t think is dumb, okay? And if you want to go to the semi-formal, then I want to be your date.”

Waverly looks up and starts to smile, “Yeah?”

“Oh yeah,” Nicole kisses her hand before speaking again, more hesitantly, “If you want me there, that is…”

“I do,” Waverly rushes to assure Nicole, “There’s nobody else I’d want to go with, but you might be the only date that’s a girl…”

Nicole laughs, “Well I don’t give a shit about that.” She pauses, taking in Waverly’s concerned face, “Do you?”

“Maybe,” Waverly distracts herself by playing with Nicole’s fingers while she sorts through her thoughts. “I don’t want it to bother me, but I can’t help but be nervous that we’re going to spend the whole night with people giving us weird looks.” She traces over a long index finger with her own, then moves to the next one as she continues, “Girls don’t normally bring other girls to the date events, I’m not sure if it’s ever even happened before.”

Waverly’s stomach feels sour; she hates that she’s even worried about such a thing but it’s been plaguing her for the past few weeks. She wants to go so badly, to get all dressed up and dance the night away with the girl she’s completely fallen for. There’s just a part of her, the part that’s always been too concerned with what other people think about her, that feels anxious about the looks and the whispers she’s sure they’ll encounter.

Nicole’s voice is quiet when she speaks, “I thought normal was overrated.”

Waverly’s head shoots up and she sees the face of the girl she’s absolutely enamored with tinged with hurt and it pains her. She’s been happier than she’s ever been the past month, and she’s so damn proud to call Nicole her girlfriend, so why can’t she have the courage to take her to some stupid sorority dance?

“It is,” Waverly says, reaching up to cup her girlfriend’s face, “It’s so overrated and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, but I’m asking you now. Nicole Haught, will you go semi-formal with me?”

Nicole is conflicted, it’s written clearly on her face as her eyes flicker across Waverly’s, trying to discern whether or not the brunette means it.

“Are you sure? Because I don’t want you to feel like you have to-”

“I’m sure.” And she is. The longer she looks into those eyes, the deeper she falls and the more she fantasizes about twirling under the lights in a fancy dress with Nicole in her arms, weird looks be damned.

“My friends all love you, and they’re the ones we’ll be with the whole night. If people have a problem with us, well then they’re… they’re shit-tickets and I don’t want to be friends with them anyways.”

Nicole smiles at her use of the word _shit-ticket_ and it warms Waverly’s heart.

“As long as you’re not just doing this for me, and you really want to go.”

“I really do.” Waverly can tell Nicole is still not completely convinced so she pulls the other girl back down to the mattress and rolls on top of her.

“Go to semi with me,” She says, straddling the redhead’s hips and leaning over to brush her lips against Nicole’s. “Go to semi with me, go to semi with me,” She mumbles again and again between kisses.

Nicole’s hands are at her hips and she’s so busy kissing Waverly back that she doesn’t respond until Waverly sits back and grins down at her. “So is that a yes or…?”

Nicole’s face is flushed and she’s smiling shyly up at Waverly in a way that makes Waverly’s heart feel like bursting. “Yeah, that’s a yes.”

The week passes in a blur. The end of classes and the approaching semi-formal send Waverly scrambling around between the library and the mall, but somehow, she manages to both successfully pass her exams and get everything she needs for the dance.

Now it’s Saturday evening and Waverly frets with her hair in front of the mirror while she anxiously awaits Nicole’s arrival. Chelsea calls to her from where she’s lounging in her desk chair, already sipping from a glass of champagne, “Your hair is perfect, babes. Relax, have a drink.” The blonde waves a second glass in the air, her bare feet propped up on the bed and a satiny red dress billowing out around her.

Waverly is hesitant, she doesn’t want to drink too much tonight and get messy. She cringes at the thought of Nicole having to carry her drunk self home, but her nerves win out and she takes the glass from her roommate. She tells herself one glass before dinner won’t hurt, and it’s not like they’re going to be able to drink at the restaurant anyways.

“Is the dress too much?” Waverly asks, returning to the mirror and inspecting her outfit. On Wednesday she found a tight-fitted dress made of a sparkly gold material and absolutely fell in love with it, but now she fears it’s too flashy for the occasion. She’s also going to be cleaning glitter off her floor until move-out.

“No way, it’s just enough.”

Given that her roommate is currently wearing an extravagant floor length gown to what is supposed to just be a _semi_ -formal, Waverly’s not sure she’s the best judge of what is and isn’t too much, but she lets herself be reassured by Chelsea’s words anyways.

She’s just finishing off her glass when her phone lights up and Waverly’s heart skips a beat. “Nicole’s here,” She announces, downing the rest of the champagne and spritzing on another dose of perfume. Her and Nicole have gone on several dates over the past month, but somehow, tonight feels different. The dress, the fancy dinner, and the pomp and circumstance of it all makes Waverly as jittery as she was on prom night. Maybe even more.

Chelsea informs her that her own date is about to arrive and they decide to head down together. When the doors to the dorm swing open to reveal a tall girl in a fitted black jumpsuit, Waverly just about looses her mind. She’s always thought Nicole was beautiful, but she’s never seen her dressed up like this and she fears she might pass out on the spot.

“Hey,” She breathes out, eyes still taking in the stunning girl before her that also happens to be her girlfriend. Nicole has loosely curled her hair and it falls down her shoulders that are clad in black fabric. Her makeup is light, but tasteful, and her jumpsuit has a plunging neckline that’s already making Waverly blush.

Nicole walks up the front steps and places a hand on Waverly’s hip, bringing her in for a quick kiss. “Hey, beautiful,” Nicole beams at Waverly, then turns and gives Chelsea a hug hello before bringing her attention back to the brunette.

“This dress is gorgeous,” She says as her eyes dance over the glittery garment that hugs Waverly’s body in all the right ways. Any insecurities Waverly once had about her dress disappear entirely.

Waverly steps forward and snakes her arms around Nicole’s neck. “You’re gorgeous.”

Chelsea makes a gagging noise and Waverly glares at her, but soon the blonde’s date is walking up and she’s racing down the steps to meet him, leaving the two girls alone for a moment.

“You curled your hair,” Waverly notes, twisting an auburn curl around her finger and then letting it fall.

“I did. Does it look okay?” Nicole’s brow creases with concern and Waverly finds it adorable.

“It looks perfect,” Waverly says.

Despite the fact that she’s in heels, Waverly still has to rise up on her toes to kiss Nicole because the taller girl is also wearing a pair of heels tonight, though hers are black and Waverly’s are ivory. One kiss turns into two and is about to become three when Chelsea calls to them from the sidewalk.

“Hey lovebirds, some of us are hungry!”

Waverly pulls back and laughs, “I think they’re waiting on us.”

They meet up with the rest of their group at a quaint, but classy Italian restaurant just off campus. Waverly eats so many breadsticks, she thinks she might burst out of her dress. She leans back in her chair and quietly watches as Nicole laughs and jokes with her friends and their dates like they’ve all been friends for years. Waverly can’t believe she thought about skipping this.

She loves the way Nicole talks, articulate and intelligent, and how Nicole’s hand rests gently on her thigh, even when she’s having a conversation with someone on the opposite end of the table. She loves when their eyes meet and Nicole looks at her the same way she did on the front steps of her dorm, like she’s been wandering around in the dark and Waverly is the sun. She’s starting to think that maybe she loves Nicole, but it seems awfully soon for that, they’ve only been together a month.

The grandeur of the night is momentarily interrupted as they all pile into Chelsea and Waverly’s dorm after dinner to pregame before the event. They dig out the bottles of champagne they convinced an older girl in the sorority to buy for them from under Chelsea’s bed and pass out plastic flutes. It’s hardly classy, but none of them care.

Waverly can tell Nicole’s getting tipsy when she leans in close and whispers, “I wish we were alone right now,” pressing a subtle kiss just behind her ear.

Waverly sucks in a breath and grips Nicole’s arm. “But we’re not,” She whispers back.

Nicole sighs and Waverly can feel it on her neck because of their close proximity. It makes her shiver. The hand that’s sitting on Waverly’s thigh drifts up higher and Nicole leans in once more, “We’re going to _my_ dorm after, right?”

Waverly’s stomach flutters. Nicole’s dorm has separate bedrooms, and ones with locks. It’s where they go when they want to be alone, undisturbed. It’s where all of their most intense make-out sessions have occurred, and though they’ve never gone all the way, it’s where she anticipates their first time will be.

“Definitely,” Waverly agrees and hopes her face isn’t too flushed.

They arrive at the venue after drinking the champagne bottles dry and Nicole and Waverly find everything about their walk up to the stately manor hilarious. They hold onto one another for stability even though they’re both swaying from the bubbly.

As the doors grow near they try to suppress their giggles and appear as sober as possible for the security guard and sorority officer checking people in. Nicole and Waverly are at the back of the group and as they wait, Waverly’s nerves come flooding in. The president of the sorority stands across from the guard with a clipboard and a serious look on her perfectly symmetrical face. Waverly can hear her asking the girls for their dates’ names and jotting them down on her clipboard before letting them pass. _What if she doesn’t let us in?_ Waverly panics, every worst case scenario running through her head. The thought sobers her up quick.

Nicole must have sensed her distress because she touches Waverly’s elbow lightly and tells her that everything’s going to be fine. Waverly hopes she’s right. They reach the front of the line and Waverly puts on her most confident smile.

“Waverly Earp,” The president says, scanning her list for the younger girl’s name and checking it off. She turns her attention to Nicole, “Date’s name?”

Waverly feels a lump in her throat but she swallows it down.

“Nicole Haught,” The girl besides her answers, her voice calm, her hand still resting lightly on Waverly’s elbow keeping her grounded.

The president jots down Nicole’s name then looks back up, “Okay you’re good to go, enjoy the dance.”

Waverly lets out a relieved sigh and they start heading in when the president’s voice rings out again, “Don’t forget, if you or your date throws up, you get fined!”

Nicole looks over at Waverly, confused, “Has that happened before?”

Waverly laughs, feeling her nerves dissipate. “Trust me, you don’t wanna know.” She scans the ballroom for her friends and they join them in the back by the photo booth.

She discovers that they’ve picked this spot because the photo booth line provides a cover for Hannah’s date to slip a flask out of his jacket and pass it around without security noticing, but Waverly declines. She’s already feeling the effects of the generous amount of champagne she consumed at the dorm and she fears any more alcohol, especially straight liquor, will send her stumbling across the ballroom floor. Nicole follows Waverly’s lead and turns down the flask as well.

Waverly can’t help but let her eyes flicker over to the photo booth as they stand in their huddle. She’s actually disappointed to find her friends only came here to smuggle their alcohol and not to take pictures.

“Do you want to get in line?”

Waverly turns and discovers Nicole has been watching her gaze longingly at the booth. She smiles sheepishly, “Yeah, I kinda do.”

“Let’s go then.”

They separate themselves from the circle and join the back of the line that’s moving quicker than Waverly expected. When they reach the front, Nicole steps into the small booth and Waverly follows, pulling the curtain shut behind her.

Nicole sits on the bench and Waverly is about to occupy the space next to her when she changes her mind and plops down right in Nicole’s lap. The redhead immediately wraps her arms around Waverly’s waist and pulls her close.

Waverly settles on Nicole’s lap and drinks in the soft expression on the other girl’s face. She could gaze into those eyes for an eternity.

“Babe,” Nicole’s voice interrupts her thoughts, “You gotta push the button.”

“Oh right,” Waverly laughs as she leans forward to push start, one arm still hooked around Nicole’s shoulders to prevent her from tumbling to the floor.

The machine starts counting down and Waverly’s still rearranging herself in Nicole’s arms when there’s a flash and the first photo is taken.

“I wasn’t ready!” She cries as the photo is blown up on the screen. She leans forward again to try and reset the timer but then there’s another flash and Waverly startles, almost falling if not for Nicole’s secure grip on her waist.

Nicole bursts out laughing when the next photo pops up showing Waverly with a terrified expression and her face close to the lens. Waverly finds herself laughing along with Nicole but her cheeks have gone red. The third flash comes while Waverly’s face is tucked in Nicole’s neck from embarrassment and the other girl is mid-laugh.

Waverly’s face is guided out of hiding by a hand on her cheek and she’s met with shining brown eyes and that smile that never fails to wipe away her worries. Nicole brings Waverly’s face down and connects their lips just as the final flash lights up the booth. They stay like that even after the screen goes dark and the line of pictures has been spit out.

Waverly presses forward, pinning Nicole’s body against the back of the booth and kissing her slowly. She’s just opening her mouth and slipping her tongue between parted lips when there’s an impatient banging on the wall of the booth.

Both girls jump at the loud noise and remember where they are and the line on the other side of the velvet curtain. Waverly grabs the photos without bothering to look at them and they slip out of the booth, ignoring the glare they receive from the next couple.

Once they’re back with Waverly’s friends, the brunette examines their pictures and shows them to Nicole.

“We’re a mess,” Waverly giggles, taking in her startled expression and their lack of a real pose in any of the four frames.

Nicole takes one of the strips and smiles softly at it. “I love it,” She says and tucks the photo into her pocket.

Chelsea walks over to the pair and smirks at Nicole, “What happened to your outfit?”

Nicole looks down and her face turns scarlet. Her once black jumpsuit is now covered in gold glitter, like a night sky dotted with stars, very incriminating stars.

“I um-” Nicole struggles to find an excuse as to why the glitter from Waverly’s dress is now scattered about her body.

“What happened to your lipstick?” Waverly challenges, noting the way Chelsea’s red lips are now faded and smudged.

Her friend laughs and narrows her eyes at Waverly, “Touché bitch,” then returns to her date’s side.

Waverly faces Nicole and brushes her hands over the black fabric. “Whoops,” She says sweetly, letting her hands come to rest on the other girl’s hips after realizing her efforts are futile and the glitter is now a permanent addition to Nicole’s jumpsuit, at least for the night.

But Nicole doesn’t appear the least bit upset, and wraps her arms around a glittery waist, no doubt adding another layer of gold to her sleeves. “Thanks for taking me.”

“Thanks for coming,” Waverly responds quietly, smiling at her stunning date and rising up on her toes for another kiss when she hears a snarky voice speak to her right, haltering her movement.

 _“I didn’t know Waverly Earp was a dyke, did you?”_ A voice not so subtly comments.

_“No but it makes sense, I’ve always thought she was weird. Is she even allowed to bring a girl?”_

Waverly feels her face grow hot and she darts her eyes over to find two girls from her pledge class leaning against a pillar and looking her and Nicole up and down with judgmental eyes. She lowers herself back down but doesn’t remove her hands from Nicole’s hips.

“They’re staring at us,” Waverly whispers, fighting back tears.

Nicole’s shoulders slump and she looks at Waverly with sad but gentle eyes, “Do you want to leave?” She asks, letting her hands drop from Waverly’s waist and moving to take a step back.

Waverly keeps her hands locked on Nicole, preventing her from moving too far, but she doesn’t say anything. She can hear the blood rush to her ears and she feels like a deer caught in the headlights. The snickers to her right seep into her head and find their way to her deepest insecurities, making her want to hide under a rock and never come out, while Nicole’s eyes pierce her heart and implore her to close the distance between them and drag her proudly to the dance floor. Waverly is torn and so overwhelmed she can’t act on either urge, causing Nicole to assume the worst and free herself from Waverly’s grip.

“I’ll get our coats,” She mumbles, and turns to head back to the entrance just as the clicking of Chelsea’s heels on the marble floor can be heard marching their way.

“I’m sorry, what the fuck did you just call her?” The blonde hollers at the girls by the pillar. The two appear startled by Chelsea’s anger and feign innocence.

Chelsea interrupts their half-hearted replies, “No no, you don’t talk shit about my best friend and then act like nothing happened. You know I could report you to standards for this? What you said was a homophobic slur and you directed it another member, pretty sure that’s grounds for probation if not worse.”

One of the girls steps forward, a stuck-up brunette who graduated from one of the city’s exclusive private schools named Dakota. “It was a stupid comment, we didn’t do anything, chill.”

Chelsea moves in on the girl and Waverly grabs her friend by the arm, pulling her back and preventing her from throwing down in her ball gown.

“Chels, they’re not worth it,” Waverly urges.

Her friend turns to look at her, her face softening, “Yeah but you’re worth it, and you deserve to have a fun night with your date just like everyone else.”

Waverly smiles and her heart swells when she notices her other friends have gathered behind and them and Hannah’s date has stepped up to a lanky blonde boy who must be Dakota’s date.

“You got a problem with my friends?” He challenges, crossing his arms over his dress jacket and prompting the other boy to back up and raise his hands in the air.

“Nah man, she said it not me.”

Dakota sends a pointed glare towards her date. “Jonathan!” She scolds.

The boy just shrugs, “I don’t fuck with homophobes babe, my uncle’s gay.” The boy then turns and starts walking away.

“Where are you going?” Dakota cries after his retreating form.

“To get a pizza, play video games, I don’t know but I’m over this. And my name's not Jonathan, it's Daniel." With that the boy walks out of the venue, leaving Dakota baffled and dateless.

Chelsea has a wicked grin on her face, like a cat who just found its supper, and is about to send another jab Dakota’s way when Waverly whispers under her breath, “Let me.”

She glances over her shoulder to see Nicole standing at the edge of the small crowd, watching the exchange with wide eyes and looking like she doesn’t know whether she should step in or walk away. Waverly knows she’s hopelessly confused the other girl as to what she wants but her friends have given her a new sense of courage and she intends to set the record straight, for lack of a better word.

Waverly walks towards the glowering brunette and looks her in the eye as she speaks. “Dakota,” She starts calmly, “I’m sorry about your date.” She always tries her best to lead with kindness, even to those who are not kind in return.

Dakota scoffs but Waverly ignores her and continues, “But I’m not sorry about mine. You see that really pretty girl in the black jumpsuit?” She points towards Nicole then turns her attention back on the brunette, “Her name is Nicole, and she’s my _girlfriend._ So I’m going to go dance with her and if you want to stand here and spend your night talking about us instead of actually enjoying your semi-formal, be my guest, I’ll be too busy kissing my hot date to care.”

Waverly doesn’t give the other girl a chance to respond and turns on her heels. As she passes Chelsea the blonde raises her hand for a high five that Waverly returns. “That’s my girl,” The blonde calls proudly as Waverly makes her way over to Nicole.

Once she’s standing before the redhead, some of her adrenaline dissipates and she worries Nicole’s embarrassed by the whole confrontation, given the shocked expression on her face and the way her eyes have gone wide. But then she’s smiling and pulling Waverly to her exclaiming, “That was so hot.”

Waverly laughs and grasps her girlfriend’s face in her hands as she kisses her in the middle of ballroom. She can hear her friends let out a _whoop_ and she’s sure there are eyes on them but for a moment, that all fades away and it’s just her and Nicole.

She pulls back and keeps her hands on Nicole’s cheeks. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything earlier, I panicked.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Nicole consoles, “If anything, I should have said something. I know it's scary, realizing that there are people out there who don’t approve of us, that will hate us even, just for being together. I understand if you-”

Waverly doesn’t let her finish that thought. “I really like you, Nicole, like a lot, and people like Dakota aren’t going to change that.”

Nicole smiles, “I really like you too.”

“You better,” Waverly responds before reconnecting their lips. She could spend all night standing there kissing Nicole but this is a dance after all, and Waverly loves to dance, especially with Nicole, so she steps back and threads her fingers through the other girl’s and pulls them towards the section of the ballroom that’s filled with dancing couples and colorful lights.

“Dance with me, darling,” She sings as she leads Nicole across the marble floor.

When they reach their destination, Nicole places her hands on shimmering hips and Waverly brings her arms to rest behind the taller girl’s neck. As if on queue, a slower song starts to play and Waverly closes the distance between them so she can rest her head on Nicole’s shoulder.

She can hear Nicole’s heartbeat and feel her cheek come to rest on the top of her head, and despite everything that just happened, she’s never felt safer. There’s something about the way Nicole holds her, gentle but firm, that’s like nothing she’s ever experienced before. The rate at which she’s falling for the other girl alarms her, but she has no intention of fighting it.

Waverly and Nicole dance well into the night, sometimes taking a break to chat with Waverly’s friends or cram into the photo booth for a group picture that ends up pinned above Waverly's desk, right next to ones of her and Nicole. They try the cupcakes that are arranged in an intricate tower on a silver platter and when Waverly gets pink frosting on her nose Nicole wipes it off and licks her finger clean, making Waverly’s mind drift elsewhere and bringing a blush to her cheeks.

When the first couples start to leave the effects of the champagne have mostly worn off but are replaced by a new sort of buzz that sits low in her stomach and is prompted by the way Nicole’s hands have started to drift lower with each dance and the dramatic neckline on Nicole’s jumpsuit that seems to be taunting her the entire night.

Waverly tilts her head up to speak softly in Nicole’s ear. “Do you want to get out of here?”

“Yes,” Nicole’s response is immediate and Waverly’s stomach swirls with a mixture of anticipation and nerves.

They call an Uber back to Nicole’s dorm after saying their goodbyes and Waverly has to avoid looking at Nicole during the entire ride home or else she might just loose it under the intense gaze of those brown eyes. She’s pretty sure she doesn’t want their first time to be in the back of a stranger’s car.

The minute Nicole’s door swings open, Waverly is wrapping her arms around the taller girl’s neck and bringing soft lips down to meet her own. Nicole laughs into the kiss and mumbles out, “Waves, let me lock it,” as her hand fumbles for the door knob. The lock clicks into place and Nicole’s hands find Waverly’s hips, backing her further into the room until she’s pinned between a white cotton comforter and Nicole’s body.

Nicole’s bed sits high off the ground on risers and Waverly can feel the side of the mattress pressing against her back as Nicole trails kisses down her neck.

“My dress,” Waverly breathes out, her pulse quickening as Nicole’s hands roam her body.

Nicole doesn’t bother to lift her head when she responds, her lips moving against Waverly’s skin as she speaks, “I love your dress, you look so good in it.”

Waverly is momentarily distracted by the compliment and by Nicole’s lips finding her pulse point that she forgets what she was trying to say. Her eyes flutter closed and she let’s out a breathy sigh before she regains control of her thoughts.

“The glitter it’s-” A hand runs up the length of her body and stops at her chest, causing Waverly to gasp mid sentence.

Waverly can feel Nicole laugh against her neck before she finally raises her head to look at the shorter girl, her hand slipping back down to rest on a slim waist. “The glitter is what, babe?”

Nicole’s got a cocky grin and it makes Waverly blush. She’s clearly aware of the effect she was having on Waverly moments before.

“It’s going to get all over your bed,” Waverly says sheepishly, twisting to reveal the white comforter that is now laden with flecks of gold.

Nicole places a hand below Waverly’s chin and guides hazel eyes back to her own. She gazes down at Waverly with a mix of gentle affection and desperate want. Waverly didn’t know it was possible to be turned on by just a look, but she is now.

“I could really care less about my comforter right now.” Nicole’s voice is low and has a huskiness to it that makes Waverly’s stomach twist in the best possible way. She kisses Waverly, slower this time, eliciting a small moan as her hand drifts upwards and tangles in brown locks.

Suddenly, Nicole’s pulling back and her eyes scan down Waverly’s dress. “But if you’re really worried about it,” She places her lips by Waverly’s ear as she whispers the last half of the sentence, “I can always take it off.”

Chills envelope Waverly’s body and she finds it difficult to form words, though she manages to get out four. “Then take it off.”

Nicole gently spins Waverly around and sweeps her hair over one shoulder to reveal a small gold zipper. She drags the zipper down, pausing every few inches to press a soft kiss on the newly exposed skin until her fingers brush against the base of Waverly’s spine. Waverly’s heart is beating frantically and only increases when she feels two hands slip under the fabric at her shoulders and slide the glittery material off her body and onto the ground. She steps out of the fabric pooled at her feet as well as her heels and turns to face Nicole who now stands a good seven inches taller than her.

Before Waverly has time to feel awkward about their varied states of undress and the amplified height difference, Nicole is lifting her onto the bed and stepping between tan legs that instinctively wrap around the redhead’s back, locking her in place.

Nicole’s hands run along Waverly’s thighs and she bites her lip as she smiles up bashfully at the other girl. “You’re so beautiful.”

“So are you,” Waverly whispers, swiping a thumb across Nicole’s cheekbone before reconnecting their lips. While they kiss, Waverly’s hands find Nicole’s zipper and she fiddles with the small piece of metal before separating their lips just enough to ask, “Can I?”

Nicole nods, “Yeah.”

Nicole’s jumpsuit takes more maneuvering to get off but she’s eventually freed of the tight black fabric and returns to her spot between Waverly’s legs. She now has to stand on her tip toes to reach Waverly’s mouth without the added height of her heels, her hands resting on bare thighs to give her leverage. Waverly pulls their bodies closer as they kiss with increased fever, feeling a need to be as close as possible to the redhead but finding their current positioning inadequate.

“Get up here,” She mumbles against Nicole’s lips and the other girl wastes no time in climbing onto the bed and lowering Waverly down on the mattress. Nicole’s body lies flush atop Waverly’s and one leg comes to rest between her own as a tongue dips into her mouth. Waverly hums in approval. “Much better,” She sighs when their lips part for a second between kisses.

Waverly can’t decide where she wants her hands so they wander from Nicole’s back to her stomach and eventually up to her chest. She can feel Nicole moan against her lips and all Waverly wants is to make that happen again, but Nicole has other plans. She starts kissing down Waverly’s neck and chest, requiring Waverly to move her hands up to tangle in red hair. Nicole’s lips follow the outline of Waverly’s bra and her thigh keeps pressing forward in a way that makes Waverly see stars. She closes her eyes and lets Nicole’s name fall from her lips, but soon after the kisses stop and she’s opening her eyes in confusion.

Nicole is smiling softly down at her, eyes dancing across her face. She lifts her hand from where it was resting on a toned abdomen and tucks a strand of hair behind Waverly’s ear.

“Tell me if you want to stop,” She says, her voice soft.

The last thing Waverly wants to do right now is stop. Her entire body is screaming at her to keep going, but there’s still that little voice in the back of her head whispering that she doesn’t know what she’s doing, that she’s not going to be good enough for Nicole. They’ve gotten to this point several times before, and Waverly’s always found some excuse as to why they can’t go any further. Every time, Nicole has been understanding and patient while Waverly grows more and more frustrated with herself and her lack of experience.

“I don’t,” Her chest rises and falls as she speaks, “Want to stop I mean, I don’t want to stop.”

Nicole waits before leaning down again, registering the hesitation on Waverly’s face that contradicts her words. “Are you sure?”

Waverly runs her hand slowly along Nicole’s back as she thinks, feeling each individual vertebrae and wanting to familiarize herself with every inch of the other girl’s body. The tender look in Nicole’s eyes prompts Waverly to finally voice her insecurities.

“I really want to I just-” She takes a shaky breath before continuing, “I’m scared.”

“Of me?” Nicole asks, her face twisting in concern.

Waverly shakes her head. “No, of disappointing you.”

“Waves, that’s literally impossible.” Nicole laughs, then grows serious, “I’m madly in love with you,” She traces the outline of Waverly’s face from her brow to her jaw as speaks. “Every second I spend with you is perfect, you could never disappoint me.”

Waverly feels her heart go into double time at the mention of _love_. They’ve never said that word before and it simultaneously fills her with warmth and trepidation. She’s not sure she’s ready to say it back so she focuses on their original topic of conversation.

“But I’ve never been with a girl before, I don’t- I don’t know,” She fumbles over her words, feeling embarrassed and clumsy and not the least bit sexy as she admits to her inexperience.

Nicole presses a feather light kiss to Waverly’s cheek to stop her rambling. “I know,” She soothes, “That’s why I’ll help you, but only when you’re ready.”

Nicole’s words calm Waverly, though her anxiety has not completely vanished. “What if I suck?” She asks tentatively.

“You wont suck,” Nicole assures her. A smirk settles on her face and she raises her eyebrows suggestively. “And they say practice makes perfect, so we can just practice _all the time_.”

Waverly laughs. “You sound like a horny teenage boy.”

Nicole joins in her laughter and rolls to the side, propping her head up with one hand and running the other through Waverly’s hair that fans out across the pillow.

“But seriously, I don’t have any expectations, I just want to be with you.”

Waverly turns on her side and Nicole’s hand settles on her cheek. She trails her fingers up Nicole’s stomach and brushes along the lacy black fabric of her bra. “I want to be with you too,” She confesses.

“We can wait though, if you want.” Nicole’s forehead comes to rest against Waverly’s as her thumb glides across a pink cheek. “We’ve got all the time in the world baby.”

“Thank you,” Waverly whispers, feeling her chest fill with such affection for the other girl, she doesn’t know how to contain it. She eliminates the few inches between them and kisses Nicole passionately, then pulls back ever so slightly to whisper, “But I don’t want to wait.”

“You don’t?”

Waverly’s hand drifts to Nicole’s back and lands on the metal clasp of her bra. “Nope,” She says before pressing her lips against Nicole’s again, relishing in the way her body lights on fire as Nicole pulls her closer and tangles their legs together. “I’m tired of waiting.” Her voice comes out raspier than normal, laced with desperation. “I want you,” She breaths, “All of you.”

Nicole brushes her nose along the bridge of Waverly’s. “Then I’m yours.”

Waverly’s fingers release the clasp on Nicole’s bra and their lips reconnect. Nicole returns to her previous position above Waverly and works on ridding their bodies of any remaining pieces of clothing.

The more frantic their kisses and touches become, the more Nicole slows down, dragging out every second of their first time and leaving Waverly breathless and euphoric. She’s loving and gentle and makes Waverly feel so damn good, she’s a little intimidated when it’s her turn to take the lead. But then Nicole’s guiding her hand and whispering sweet words in her ear and her fears are nothing but a distant thought. It’s not perfect and it’s not without fumbles, but it’s theirs, and Waverly commits every aspect of it to memory. The feel of Nicole’s skin against her own, the blissful look on her pretty face, and the way she holds Waverly after, like she never wants to let go.

When Waverly wakes, she feels warm sunlight on her skin and the weight of Nicole’s arm draped across her middle. She rolls over and smiles at the sleeping girl beside her. Nicole’s features are soft with sleep, making her appear younger. She looks so peaceful that Waverly doesn’t want to wake her and she’s about to close her eyes and attempt to drift back to sleep when Nicole stirs and her eyes flutter open. The morning sun reflects off her irises, making them appear almost golden.

“Good morning,” Waverly whispers, reaching out to touch Nicole’s cheek.

Nicole’s eyes drift closed again at Waverly’s touch and she smiles softly. “Good morning, beautiful.” Nicole has been calling Waverly _beautiful_ ever since they started dating, yet it still sets off a wave of butterflies in the brunette’s stomach.

“Did you sleep okay?” Waverly asks, running her fingers through the remainder of Nicole’s curls that drape over a bare shoulder.

Nicole’s smile widens and her eyes reopen. “I slept great, maybe you should stay over every night.”

“I think Chelsea would miss me,” Waverly counters.

“Yeah but,” Nicole tugs Waverly towards her with the arm around her waist, “does Chelsea do this?” She kisses Waverly leisurely, pressing their bodies together and running her hand up and down Waverly’s back, leaving a trial of goosebumps in its wake.

“No, she definitely doesn’t,” Waverly concedes when Nicole pulls back. A moment ago she was hardly awake but now her heart is thumping and she’s very aware of the fact that there lies not a single thread of fabric between her and Nicole.

Nicole smirks, satisfied that she’s made her point. Waverly wants to be annoyed with the arrogant redhead in front of her, but that stupid smirk sends her stomach spiraling and Nicole’s kisses must be some kind of drug because now that she’s had one all she can think about is reconnecting their lips for another.

“You know what else she doesn’t do?” Waverly asks, watching the way Nicole’s eyes light up at her suggestion.

“What?” Nicole responds, her smirk having morphed into a dazzling smile.

Waverly guides Nicole onto her back and takes a moment to appreciate the beautiful girl staring up at her, red hair fanning out across the pillow and brown eyes glinting in the morning sun. The tips of Waverly’s light brown curls brush along a pale collar bone before she lowers her head down to ghost her lips over Nicole’s.

“This,” She whispers, letting her first kiss linger softly, then running her tongue across Nicole’s bottom lip during the second.

The sheet slips off Waverly’s back and settles on her waist as their kisses intensify. Waverly can feel her entire body waking up and she’s starting to think there might be a repeat of last night when the shrill ring of her phone interrupts them.

Waverly rolls to the side and receives a frustrated groan from Nicole as she reaches for the nightstand. Her hand lands on the phone and she pulls it down to her view, laughing at the name of the caller.

“Speak of the devil,” Waverly says, showing Nicole the picture of Chelsea that’s taking up her screen as the phone continues it’s incessant ringing.

“Ignore her, please,” Nicole begs, snaking her arm back around Waverly’s waist and attempting to pull her back into her side. “What could she possibly want from you at ten a.m. on a Sunday?”

Waverly is tempted to hit ignore and go back to kissing her girlfriend but she knows her roommate and if she’s up before noon on a weekend something is definitely off.

“It’ll be quick,” She reassures Nicole before pressing answer and bringing the phone up to her ear. “Hey Chels, what’s up?”

_“Waverly, thank god, I thought you weren’t going to pick up.”_

“Is everything okay?” She questions, feeling suddenly nervous at the distress in her friend’s voice.

 _“Yeah yeah, I’m fine,”_ Chelsea rushes out, _“But I might need a teeny tiny favor…”_

“Anything, what do you need?” Waverly’s eyes dart over to Nicole who’s trying to appear as if she’s not listening to the conversation but clearly is.

 _“I need a ride,”_ The other girl explains.

“From where?”

The line is silent before Chelsea speaks again, _“From Westgate…”_

“Westgate?” Waverly repeats incredulously, “What the hell are you doing there?”

She can hear Chelsea sigh on the other side of the line, _“Asher knows a guy who lives up here and he was having a party last night so we went after semi and the Uber back was really expensive so we just crashed in this random dude’s house which is cool and all but then I wake up this morning to find that Asher’s gone and all he left me was text saying he had to go to work so now I’m stranded in a Westgate mansion and I need you to come get me.”_

Waverly shakes her head, only Chelsea would end up in a bizarre situation like this, “Chels,” She starts but is interrupted by her roommate’s pleading voice.

_“Pretty please, I’ll do your laundry for a month.”_

Waverly laughs, “You don’t have to bribe me, I’m coming.” She turns her head and gives Nicole an apologetic look.

 _“You’re the best, I’ll text you the address.”_ Her roommate hangs up and Waverly brings her attention back to girl beside her, feeling guilty.

“I’m sorry,” She says, running her hand along the arm across her waist, “I wish I could stay.”

Nicole sighs and brings her head down to a tan shoulder, pressing a kiss there before releasing her hold on Waverly. “Me too, but it sounds like your friend needs you.”

Waverly reluctantly gets out of bed and is suddenly self-conscious about the fact that she’s completely naked. Her eyes land on the crumpled glittery garment on the floor and she cringes at the thought of walking across campus in her evening ware on a Sunday morning.

Nicole must have read her mind because she sits up and points to her dresser, “Shirts in the middle drawer, pants in the bottom.”

Waverly smiles and starts riffling through the drawers in search of an outfit as Nicole slips into a pair of underwear and throws an open flannel over her shoulders before lounging back on her mattress. Waverly finds a pair of soft grey sweatpants and has to roll the waistband three times before they’re an acceptable length. She then pulls open the middle drawer and one shirt immediately catches her eye. It’s a baseball style tee with navy sleeves and she can’t help but smile at the memories tied to that particular shirt. She pulls the shirt over her head and knots it in the front before turning back around to face Nicole.

The other girl smiles at the sight of Waverly in her clothes, her head propped up with her elbow and the flannel hardly covering her naked form. “You wear that shirt better than I ever could.”

Waverly blushes and shakes her head, “That’s not true, you looked pretty good in it the night we had our first kiss.”

Nicole closes her eyes and smiles softly at the memory, “Best night of my life.”

Waverly walks over to the bed after slipping on a pair of Nicole’s running shoes and perches on the edge of the mattress. “Not last night?” She asks, toying with the buttons on Nicole’s flannel and bringing heat to Nicole’s cheeks at the mention of their first time.

“Okay second best night of my life,” Nicole admits. The two stare at each other for a minute, recalling the things they did and the things they said the night before.

Then Nicole’s clearing her throat and sitting back up to run a hand through messy curls, “If you don’t leave now, I’ll end up dragging you back to bed and then you’ll never leave.”

Waverly can’t help but think that sounds like a pretty good idea, but her friend needs her and Waverly doesn’t want to leave the blonde stranded any longer.

“Okay fine, I’m leaving,” Waverly sighs, then places a quick peck on her girlfriend’s lips, knowing anything more would send the two tumbling back to the mattress and leave Chelsea stuck in Westgate all morning.

She grabs her coat from where it was carelessly discarded on Nicole’s floor and digs out her keys. As she’s opening the door she turns back to smile at the flannel clad girl watching her from the bed.

“I hope you know you’re never getting this shirt back.”


	7. Chapter 7

**January**

Waverly hurries from the tiny steam-filled bathroom to her bedroom, her wet feet leaving puddles on the worn wood floors as she races to avoid the cold. The heater at the homestead leaves a lot to be desired, especially on nights like this when small flurries can be seen floating down outside the window.

Once she reaches her room, Waverly shuts the door and drops her towel, scrambling over to her dresser to pull on a pair of fuzzy pajama bottoms adorned with snowmen. One might argue they were Christmas pajamas but Waverly would disagree, you can build a snowman almost half the year in Purgatory. She then moves over to her closet, arms wrapped tightly around her chest in a useless attempt to fend off the cold. She swipes through her shirts and scowls when she can’t find the one she’s looking for.

Waverly skims her fingers over the shirts a second time, perhaps she missed it in her haste, but once again the navy sleeves are nowhere to be found. She instead pulls a raggedy white sweater off its hanger and tugs it over her head, though she’s not happy about it. The sweater is actually rather comfy despite its mangled appearance from years of use, but it smells like moth balls and the cheap detergent her aunt buys and not anything like _her_.

Waverly checks the time and notes that she still has ten minutes before 9:00 so she slips on her coziest socks and goes stomping down the stairs.

“Where is it?” She cries upon entering the kitchen, causing her aunt to startle and look up from the dishes.

She holds a sudsy hand to her heart before speaking. “Waverly, sweetie, you scared me half to death.”

“Sorry Gus,” She says, her voice calmer, feeling guilty for storming down the stairs and frightening the woman who practically raised her.

“Now what is it you’re in such a tizzy about?” Gus wipes her hands off on a towel and waits for Waverly to explain.

“My shirt?” Now that she’s saying it out loud it sounds trivial, but it’s much more than a shirt really, it’s a piece of the girl she misses like crazy and after sleeping in it every night over break, she’s not sure she’ll ever be able to sleep again without it, at least not until she can have the real thing.

“Nicole’s shirt,” She clarifies, “With the blue sleeves and the number on the back, I can’t find it, it’s not in my closet.”

“Oh well that’s because it’s in the wash,” Gus tells her, like that information should somehow reassure Waverly but instead it sends her spiraling once again.

“You washed it?” She shrieks, while her aunt stares at her like someone switched out her niece with a stranger.

“Yes Waverly, that’s what you do with clothes when they’re dirty. You should be grateful I still do your laundry when you’re nineteen years old, I was doing my own laundry at age ten!”

Waverly closes her eyes and tries to remain calm because she knows Gus is only trying to help. “But it wasn’t dirty,” She says softly, feeling inexplicable tears coming to her eyes at the thought of her shirt tumbling through the wash and being ripped of every last trace of her girlfriend.

She hears a snort from the other end of the kitchen and she opens her eyes to find Wynonna leaning against the doorway. “Yeah it was, there were like five ice cream stains on that shirt and it was starting to smell funky.”

Waverly gasps and crosses her arms over her chest, “You take that back!”

“I can’t take it back if it’s true,” Wynonna argues, then registers the rage on her sister’s face and turns to run through the house.

Waverly races after her, her fuzzy socks putting her at an extreme disadvantage and sending here sliding around corners until she eventually crashes into a coffee table in the living room and just barely catches the lamp before it tumbles to the ground.

“Wynonna!” She hollers in frustration.

Her sister’s face comes poking out from around the corner, wearing a cheeky grin.

“Yes?”

Waverly points her best glare at Wynonna but it’s hardly intimidating given her happy snowmen pajama pants and wet hair. The older girl takes pity on her and steps into the room, her face softer.

“I know it’s your girlfriend’s shirt and all, but what’s so bad about washing it? Wouldn’t she want you to keep it ice-cream free?”

“Well yeah, it’s just that it-”

Wynonna interrupts her, “If you say it smells like her, I am going to puke.”

Waverly blushes and fiddles with a loose strand on her sweater, “But it does, it smells like vanilla and makes me think of warm hugs and kisses and-”

Wynonna makes a gagging sound and holds her hand up, “For the love of God, please do not finish that sentence.”

A pout forms on Waverly’s bottom lip and the snark is once again wiped from Wynonna’s face.

“One wash isn’t gonna get rid of her smell or whatever,” Wynonna cringes as she says the words but continues on, “It’s just gonna get ride of all the other smells and stains _you_ gave it after living in it for the past three weeks.”

Waverly’s shoulders sag and she figures her sister is probably right, “Okay.”

“Brighten up, buttercup,” Wynonna says as she ruffles Waverly’s damp hair, “Aren’t you supposed to be FaceTiming her right now anyways?”

Waverly turns to look at the clock that now reads 9:01 and yelps. “Fudge-nuggets!” She darts back up the stairs and into her room, tossing her laptop on the bed and flopping down after it. When she opens the screen it’s two minutes after ten and she sees a missed FaceTime from Nicole. She immediately clicks call back and waits for the other girl to pick up, playing with the seam of her sweater and accidentally unraveling a new strand of fabric in the process.

Then Nicole’s smiling face is filling the screen and Waverly feels like she can breathe again.

“Hey you,” The sweet sound of Nicole’s voice fills the room.

Waverly settles down on her bed and props her head up with one hand, pulling the laptop in front of her. “Hey back.”

Nicole’s smile falters for a second and she leans closer to the camera. “You’re not wearing my shirt,” She observes, a tinge of disappointment in her voice.

Waverly huffs in annoyance and gives Nicole a dejected look. “Apparently,” She starts, “it needed to be washed.”

Nicole cracks a smile. “Were you not washing it before?” She questions.

Waverly can see red tint her cheeks in the small square at the top of the screen as she mumbles out an answer. “Um, not really…”

“Waverly!” Nicole teases, her image shifting as she pushes her own laptop to the foot of her bed and lays down on her stomach.

“It reminds me of you, okay? Gimme a break,” She lays her head down and hides her face in the comforter.

“Aw Waves, come back,” Nicole coos, “I think it’s sweet.”

Waverly rotates her head so she can see the screen again, “I think I sound crazy,” She grimaces.

“Love makes you crazy,” Nicole says and Waverly freezes.

There’s that word again. It’s been popping up ever since semi and as much as the idea of Nicole loving her fills Waverly’s heart to the point of bursting, it also prompts a wave of anxiety in her because for some reason, she can’t seem to get those four letters out, and she worries Nicole will tire of saying it to her without hearing it back and then she’ll loose her for good. Waverly doesn’t know what she would do if that were to happen.

Nicole seems to register her slip and quickly changes the subject, “Do you at least have the necklace?”

Waverly props herself back up and smiles, “Yup.” She pulls the delicate chain out from under her sweater so that Nicole can see the little silver sun that dangles from the links. “I never take it off.”

The necklace was a Christmas gift from Nicole and arrived in the mail two weeks prior along with a note that said, _“because you are my sunshine,”_ in Nicole’s sprawling script.

The other girl grins and holds up her right hand to the lens, displaying a ring with the outline of two mountaintops, one larger than the other. “Me neither.”

Waverly’s heart fills with warmth. She had spent days scouring the internet for the perfect gift and finally settled on that ring. Nicole always talked about the mountains and how she would spend two weeks with her dad hiking and climbing every summer. She had told Waverly the mountains made her feel at peace, and so Waverly hoped the ring would do the same and she could look down at it whenever she felt anxious or sad and be reminded of the mountains she so adored. She also hoped the ring would remind Nicole of her since _“there’s a tall one and a short one, but they fit perfectly together, like you and me”._

“You really like it?” Waverly sighs.

“I really do,” Nicole assures her and all Waverly wants is to reach over and kiss her girlfriend but she’s miles away at the moment and nothing more than an image on a screen.

“Good.” There’s a moment of comfortable silence before Waverly speaks again. “I wish you were here.”

Nicole gives her a sad smile. “You don’t even know how much I miss you.”

“I might have an idea,” Waverly sighs. The distance between them has felt like a chasm, and even though they’ll be reunited in a little over a week the days seem to drag out longer the closer spring semester gets. Waverly hadn’t realized how dependent upon the redhead she’d become until they were forced apart for winter break.

Waverly traces her finger over the screen, following the outline of Nicole’s hair that brushes against her comforter. “Your hair’s getting longer,” She notes.

Nicole glances down and shrugs, “I hadn’t noticed, should I cut it?”

“Hm,” Waverly tilts her head and pictures her girlfriend with short hair and smiles. “Definitely,” She concludes. “If you want to.”

Nicole runs a hand through her hair, examining her reflection, “I think I do.”

Then Waverly gasps. “Oh my god, could I cut it?”

The other girl laughs until she notices the serious look on Waverly’s face. “Oh you’re not kidding?”

“I’m dead serious, can I?”

“Have you ever cut someone’s hair before?” Nicole questions, clearly unconvinced.

Nicole’s face is caught somewhere between amused and terrified and Waverly finds it hilarious. “I mean technically no, but I used to cut my dolls’ hair all the time.”

Nicole looks doubtful, “I don’t know Waves…”

“Babe please,” Waverly begs, “I’ll do such a good job, I promise.”

Waverly can tell Nicole is fighting back a smile and knows she’s about to cave so she whips out her puppy dog face and bats her eyes.

Her girlfriend gives an exasperated sigh. “Okay I’ll think about it.”

Waverly knows she’s as good as won, and squeals with delight. The redhead has a particularly hard time saying no to Waverly, especially when she gives her _that look_.

They continue to talk late into the night until Waverly’s eyelids are drooping and Nicole is stifling back yawns. Waverly slips under her covers and arranges the laptop next to her pillow as she switches off her lamp and burrows down under her many blankets.

“Are you warm enough?” Nicole teases but there’s a gentleness to her voice that lets Waverly know she really does care about Waverly having enough blankets to keep her warm at night.

“I’d be warmer if you were here,” Waverly sighs, hugging the corner of a fluffy blanket to her chest.

Waverly watches as Nicole scoots up to the top of her bed and pulls down her comforter. The screen jostles as the other girl situates herself in bed before refocusing on her face lit by golden lamplight.

“Tomorrow we’ll be one day closer to being together again,” Nicole says softly, “and you can stay in my dorm any night you want next semester, hell you can move in.”

Waverly hums with approval, envisioning falling asleep every night in Nicole’s arms and waking up to those shining brown eyes each morning. “That’d be nice but I’m not sure your roommates would be too happy about it.”

Nicole’s nose scrunches, “Forgot I had those.”

Waverly laughs but it’s quiet, as she’s on the brink of sleep. Nicole observes her girlfriend’s sleepy state and speaks softly, “Why don’t you close your eyes and I’ll be with you in your dreams, and then soon enough I’ll be there to kiss you for real.”

“Okay,” Waverly whispers, already feeling sleep tugging on her mind. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight Waves, I lo-” Nicole falters but Waverly doesn’t notice, she’s already drifting out of consciousness. “I’ll see you soon.”

Waverly’s fast asleep when Nicole leans forward and presses a kiss to her screen before laying her head down on her own pillow and letting her eyes fall shut. As the two sleep peacefully, the glow of Waverly’s laptop illuminates the otherwise dark room. When the clock approaches midnight, Waverly’s door creaks open and a shadow slips in.

Wynonna tiptoes her way over to the bed and slowly closes the laptop so as not to wake her sister, but not without mumbling, “You better not break her heart number twelve,” to the sleeping girl on the other side of the screen. She pulls the top blanket up to Waverly’s chin and places a kiss on her forehead. “Goodnight baby girl,” She whispers, then leaves just as quietly as she came.

Five days later it’s the last Friday night of winter break and Waverly sits curled up in an armchair with a history book, a cup of hot chocolate clutched in one hand and the book in the other.

Wynonna makes fun of her for reading history books in her free time, but there’s just something about the past that sucks Waverly in. She loves piecing together narratives from the past like a puzzle and maybe it’s because she’s didn’t have grandparents, or parents really for that matter, to pass down stories and teach her about her roots that she finds such comfort in learning about everyone else’s. Whatever the reason, her extracurricular reading in high school led her to major in history in college. She’s considering taking on a minor in education so she can become a history teacher, but she’s still not completely sure what she wants to do when she graduates or where she wants to end up.

Despite the fact that the relationship is still young, they’re just approaching two months, Waverly finds herself including Nicole in her plans for the future. The other girl wants to pursue a career in law and will have to attend more school after graduation. She could end up anywhere in the country depending on what schools she gets into, and after this seemingly never-ending break, Waverly’s not sure she could do long distance for three years. Which means Waverly would have to follow Nicole wherever she goes to law school. A high school teaching job wouldn’t be too hard to find in most cities, she could do that almost anywhere, making that career option suddenly more appealing to Waverly.

There’s a part of her that wants more though. What if she also went to graduate school? She could get her PhD and spend her life doing historical research and have a professorship at a University. When she confided this dream to Chelsea, her roommate told her that sounded like the most boring career to ever exist but to Waverly, it sounded thrilling. As much as she enjoys her history classes, it’s the little side projects she does on her own, searching for pieces of her family history, digging through the town archives and stitching together tales from the past with old letters and photographs, that really excites her.

But with her also attending graduate school there are good odds her and Nicole could end up on opposite ends of the continent based on what programs they get into. Waverly knows it’s too early to be worrying about such things but she’s a planner, always has been, which in turn makes her a worrier. That might be another reason she loves history so much, it’s concrete, unchanging, you just have to uncover it and learn from it. The future is much messier.

Waverly’s reading is interrupted by the buzz of her phone. She glances to the side and is disappointed to see it’s just another text from Champ trying to convince her to come to the party he’s throwing tonight. Waverly had politely declined after the first text but the boy was relentless and wouldn’t accept her shabby excuse that she was spending time with her sister. How was she to know that at the time she sent that message, Wynonna was already two whiskeys in and three barstools down from Champ at Shorty’s while the boy tried to convince the bartender to accept his fake and sell him a keg for his party.

Waverly skims the messages and rolls her eyes. Champ thinks every girl in Purgatory worships him just because he was quarterback of the football team and wrestled that calf in grade school. Waverly doesn’t bother to respond and taps on her conversation with Nicole instead. Her last message was sent two hours ago and she still hasn’t gotten a response. It shouldn’t bother her, but it does. Their nightly FaceTime call is in half an hour and the lack of communication from Nicole this evening is making Waverly worry the other girl has forgotten. She’s the only one home tonight and the homestead feels cold and empty and way too quiet. She’s counting on Nicole to keep her company and fill the eerie silence in the house.

As 9:00 grows nearer, Waverly finds it increasingly difficult to focus on her book. Her eyes keep wandering to her phone only to find the screen dark or lit up by another message from Champ. Nicole has never missed one of their calls and Waverly tells herself tonight will be no different. At five ‘til nine Waverly makes her way up to her bedroom and sets up her laptop, clicking Nicole’s contact the moment the clock strikes nine.

The line rings and rings until the message “FaceTime Unavailable” flashes across her screen and Waverly feels her heart sink. Waverly grabs her phone and types a quick message to Nicole asking if she still wants to talk tonight and waits twelve excruciating minutes before she finally gets a text back.

_“Yes! I’m so sorry baby I lost track of time. I’ll FaceTime you in five <3”_

Waverly feels some of the tightness in her chest release but she can’t help but wonder what her girlfriend has been up to for the past few hours that made her forget about their call. The next five minutes drag on longer than the ones before but eventually Nicole’s contact picture pops up and she immediately clicks accept.

“Hey,” She says as soon as the image of Nicole fills her screen.

“Waves I’m so sorry, I didn’t forget it’s just been a crazy night,” Nicole rushes out before even saying hello.

Waverly takes in Nicole’s appearance. She’s wearing her good jeans, the tight black ones with the rips on the legs, and a basketball jersey from her favorite team. There’s a fitted white long sleeve top under the jersey and Nicole’s hair looks soft and smooth, like it’s been blown dry. She looks nothing like she usually does on their FaceTime calls where she typically wears an old sweatshirt and glasses and already has her retainer in for the night.

“It’s fine,” Waverly fibs. “What uh- what have you been up to?” She tries to sound as casual as possible but she can hear the strain in her voice.

“I just had some friends over,” Nicole explains, and Waverly now registers the distant sound of music and voices in the background.

“Oh,” Waverly suddenly feels like she’s interrupting Nicole’s night. “Are they still there? We don’t have to talk if you’re busy…”

“No!” Nicole says quickly. “I mean yeah they’re still here but I want to talk to you.”

“Okay, what do you want to talk about?” Waverly still feels like she’s intruding but she also doesn’t want Nicole to hang up.

The other girl sits crisscross on her bed and twists Waverly’s ring while she talks. “Tell me about your day, what did you do?”

“Nothing much really, I just read for a bit and helped my aunt with chores around the house.” Her day sounds incredibly dull especially since she can hear what sounds like a small party happening in her girlfriend’s house. Waverly’s hung out with a few close friends from high school over break but most of her days have been fairly uneventful, though she hasn’t minded until now.

“What book?”

Waverly tells Nicole about her latest book and the redhead listens intently, asking questions every now and then and smiling at the way Waverly’s words start to rush out the more passionate she becomes. They fall back into comfortable conversation and the sounds of Nicole’s friends seem to fade away as Waverly focuses on the girl on her screen.

While they talk, Waverly’s phone rests by her pillow and keeps lighting up, though Waverly doesn’t notice. Nicole, on the other hand, does and finally comments on it.

“Who’s blowing up your phone?” Nicole laughs and Waverly swings her head around to see she has five unread messages from Champ.

“Oh some people I knew in high school are throwing a party tonight and they’re trying to get me to go,” Waverly tells Nicole, though she’s not entirely sure why she choses to omit Champ’s name.

“Why don’t you go?” Nicole asks and it rubs Waverly the wrong way.

“Because I wanted to talk to you, unless you’d rather I hang up so you can get back to your own party.” Waverly regrets the harshness to her words the moment she hears them come out of her mouth.

Nicole’s face falls and Waverly feels guilty. “That’s not what I meant,” Nicole says softly, her voice wounded. “I just don’t want you to feel like you can’t go to a party because of me.”

Waverly gives a noncommittal shrug. “I’m not sure I even want to go and relive high school.”

It’s not that Waverly had a bad experience in high school, quite the opposite actually. She was homecoming queen and head cheerleader and so caught up in her image and all the trivial drama of high school that she doesn’t want to get sucked back into that place. She feels like she’s grown a lot in her half a year at college and doesn’t feel a need to spend the evening with people who peaked in high school and refuse to move on. At least that’s how she felt an hour ago, before she learned her girlfriend had plans of her own tonight.

“I get that,” Nicole agrees, and from the way she gazes beyond the laptop for a moment and her eyes become cloudy, Waverly believes her. She also feels like there might be some things Nicole hasn’t shared with her about her high school years, and the thought bothers her. She thought they told each other everything.

Waverly’s thoughts are interrupted by Nicole’s bedroom door swinging open to reveal a girl in an oversized hockey jersey and cut-off jean shorts so short, they’re almost completely hidden by the jersey.

“Nicky what’s taking so long? I need my beer pong partner back!” The girl proclaims in annoyingly perky voice.

Waverly’s met this girl a few times since dating Nicole and she can’t say she's too fond of her. She’s got a pretty face with delicate features but whenever she’s looking at Waverly, they twist into a disapproving scowl that makes Waverly wildly uncomfortable. She’s not sure what she ever did to get on this girl’s bad side, but she’s the only one of Nicole’s friends she doesn’t get along with. Waverly’s not sure they’ve ever even had a full conversation before but the other girl has made it painfully clear she doesn’t approve of Waverly or her relationship with Nicole.

“Q I’m on the phone,” Nicole says, nervously glancing back at the screen to judge Waverly’s reaction to the intruder.

“Oh whoops, forgot,” The blonde says dully and takes a sip of the beer in her hand, failing to acknowledge Waverly’s presence.

“Hi Quinn,” Waverly forces out in an attempt to be the more mature of the two. She only receives a nod from the other girl before her attention is focused back on Nicole.

“This is your party Nicky, and you’ve been MIA for the past thirty minutes, people are asking where you went.”

Nicole lets out a frustrated huff, “I told everyone I was calling my girlfriend and it’s not my party, it’s _your_ party that you decided to throw at my house.”

Waverly watches the interaction silently.

“Details details.” Quinn waves her hand in the air as if dismissing everything Nicole just said and takes another sip of beer before stepping behind Nicole and running a hand through her hair, “It doesn’t matter whose idea it was, it’s your house babe and if you don’t get back down there now, people are going to start searching for your parents’ liquor cabinet.”

Quinn’s eyes seem to stare straight through the camera as she lets her fingers slip through auburn locks and Waverly feels like she could vomit. Nicole jerks away from the other girl’s touch but it’s a second too late and Waverly can already feel the jealousy seeping through her veins and making its way to her heart like poison. She’s spent the past three weeks craving to touch Nicole again and now she has to watch as some other girl caresses her girlfriend in a way that’s far too intimate for Waverly’s liking.

“Okay I’ll be down in a bit,” Nicole concedes, avoiding looking at her laptop. “Can you make sure no one destroys my house before then?”

A sickly sweet smile forms on Quinn’s face, “Of course.” She glances back at the laptop before exiting the room. “Bye Waverly,” She sings and Waverly’s never disliked the sound of her own name as much as she does hearing it come out the blonde’s mouth.

When the two are alone again Nicole turns to face the camera and looks apologetically at the lens. “Baby I’m sorry, I didn’t even know this party was happening until a few hours ago and now I have to make sure my parents don’t come back to a trashed house.”

“Yeah whatever,” Waverly mumbles.

There’s an awkward silence as Nicole looks between her open door and the laptop. “I don’t want to hang up with you mad at me,” She says.

“I’m not mad.” Waverly says it too fast and she knows Nicole sees right through her words.

“Waves,” Nicole sighs.

“I’m not,” Waverly tries again, “Anyways I have my own party to attend so I have to go get ready.”

“I thought you didn’t want to go,” Nicole challenges.

“I changed my mind.” There’s more silence and this time it’s Waverly who breaks it. “You should rejoin your party, wouldn’t want to keep Quinn waiting.” Waverly spits out the other girl’s name and Nicole looks like she wants to say something more but she only lets out another defeated sigh.

“Be safe tonight,” Nicole pleads. “We’ll talk again tomorrow, okay?”

Waverly doesn’t answer, she only says a quick, “Bye Nicole,” Before shutting her laptop screen and ending the call.

She’s met with heavy silence and feels dread start to creep in. Did she really just hang up on Nicole without even letting her say goodbye? As much as she feels guilty, she also feels angry. Angry that Nicole almost missed their call, that she threw a party and wasn’t even going to tell Waverly about it, and that Quinn is there right now with her hands all over her girlfriend while Waverly sits helpless and oblivious miles away.

Waverly’s always had the unhealthy habit of turning to alcohol when she’s most upset, she wouldn’t be an Earp if she didn’t, so she finds her phone and sends one of her old friends a text asking if she’s going to Champ’s party.

Chrissy Nedley responds within seconds telling Waverly that she is in fact going and that Waverly should _“totally come with.”_ Her response settles it for Waverly and she’s hopping out of bed and making her way to her closet to find something to wear. She has to hurry to get ready because the other girl is leaving soon and told Waverly she’d pick her up on the way.

There’s still a pit in Waverly’s stomach so she digs out the bottle of whiskey she knows her sister keeps stashed under her bed and takes a generous swig that makes her cough but gives her a false sense of warmth as the liquor enters her system. She continues to take sips of the foul drink as she applies her makeup and just as she’s finishing her mascara she hears a honk from the driveway signaling that her ride is here.

Waverly emerges from her front door in high-waisted jeans and a cropped long-sleeved shirt that wraps around her midriff and ties at one side. Her heeled boots clack against rotting wood as she hurries down the stairs and toward the truck waiting at the end of the drive.

Chrissy’s smiling face pokes out from the driver’s side. “Hey girl!”

“Hey Chrissy,” Waverly returns the other girl’s smile and is genuinely happy to see her old friend again.

Waverly opens the passenger door and squeezes into the bench seat next to Stephanie Jones. She’s not as happy to see her as Chrissy. Stephanie likes to give Waverly backhanded compliments and freshmen year she made out with her homecoming date while she was in the bathroom. Waverly’s never been able to completely trust the girl since.

“Where have you been Earp? I haven’t seen you all break!”

 _Yeah that wasn’t an accident_ , Waverly thinks but forces a smile instead. “I’ve just been so busy helping my aunt, you know how it is.”

Stephanie nods her head like she understands but Waverly knows she doesn’t, the girl’s never worked a day in her life. “So what’s new bitch? How’s Western?” The blonde to her left asks, unscrewing the lid to a flask and passing it to Waverly as Chrissy pulls out of the driveway and gets back on the main road.

“Western’s great,” She answers, accepting the flask and sniffing its contents before taking a swig. The pungent smell of vodka wafts up from the metal container and Waverly’s not surprised, it was their drink of choice in high school. “My classes are all super interesting and the campus is beautiful.”

Stephanie rolls her eyes, “Okay sure, but what I really meant was how are the Western guys?”

“Oh uh-” Waverly screws and unscrews the cap to the flask, not in the mood to discuss her love life after the way she just left things with Nicole.

“Ignore her, I’m glad you like the campus and classes.” Chrissy comes to her rescue as she often does and Waverly’s grateful. She directs her next words at Stephanie, “She’s there to get a degree, Steph, not just to get dick.”

Waverly nearly chokes on her vodka at Chrissy’s comment.

“Well can’t she do both?” Stephanie argues, “I know you are!”

Waverly gasps, “Who is he?”

Stephanie turns to her and raises her eyebrows suggestively. “More like who isn’t he, she’s fucked half the football team at this point,” She says, earning her an elbow in the side from the driver.

“I wouldn’t call it half…” Chrissy gives a feeble defense.

“Hey as long as you’re being safe, there’s no judgement here,” Waverly says and meets Chrissy’s eyes at they wait at a stoplight.

“Thank you _Waverly_ ,” Chrissy says pointedly, “I’ve missed having a friend who’s actually nice to me.”

“I’m so nice!” Stephanie protests, grabbing the flask back from Waverly and taking another shot. “I hold your hair back every time you puke after a party.”

Stephanie and Chrissy are roommates at the state school two hours outside of Purgatory. They also rushed the same sorority and at the beginning of the school year, Waverly couldn’t help but feel left out watching the two remain best friends while she had to start over at a school that took an entire day just to drive to. If she could go back now though, she wouldn’t change a thing. She got into the honors program at Western along with her scholarship, and if she hadn’t taken the leap of faith to move to an entirely new city that was hours away from home, she never would have met Chelsea or any her other friends. And she wouldn’t have met Nicole.

“I’m actually seeing someone,” Waverly chimes in, surprising herself.

“Do tell, what’s his name?” Stephanie inquires.

“Actually uh, _her_ name is Nicole.”

There’s a brief moment of quiet in the car as Waverly’s announcement sinks in. While she may have been aware of her bisexuality in high school, it wasn’t exactly public knowledge. Waverly had only dated guys at that point and in an old fashioned town like Purgatory, she felt no rush to come out and give people another reason to whisper about her. She got enough of that just by being an Earp.

But Chrissy knew, Chrissy had always known more about Waverly than any of her other friends, and so she’s the first one to break the silence. “That’s great Waves, what’s she like?”

“Well,” Waverly pauses to collect her thoughts, “She’s super smart and she’s on the softball team-”

“Ooh an athlete, that’s hot,” Chrissy comments and Waverly blushes though she completely agrees.

“And she’s really kind and brave and-” Waverly feels tears start to prickle in her eyes and she stops to swallow down the lump in her throat.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Chrissy asks concerned.

Waverly does her best to dab away the wetness around her eyes without smearing her mascara and takes a slow breath. “We kind of got into a fight earlier, if you can even call it that. I just really miss her and I’ve learned I’m shit at long distance.”

Stephanie hasn’t spoken since Waverly brought up Nicole but she wordlessly offers her the flask again and Waverly accepts. She knows she’s already had a concerning amount of alcohol before even stepping foot into the party but that doesn’t stop her.

“Thanks,” She mutters after grimacing through another swig of cheap vodka.

“Gosh Waves, I’m sorry,” Chrissy says, “Are you sure you want to go to this?”

“What’s the alternative? Sit in my room and cry alone? I’m going.” Waverly’s words are already starting to come out slower and the streetlights they pass blur together if Waverly stops trying to focus her eyes.

“You wouldn’t be alone. We’d stay with you, right Steph?” Chrissy has to give Stephanie another elbow in the side before the other blonde responds.

“Uh sure,” Stephanie agrees halfheartedly, “but you heard her, she says she wants to go.”

Chrissy lets it go but Waverly has a feeling if it were just the two of them in the car, she would’ve made a U-turn at the next stoplight and taken Waverly home. For the first time that evening, Waverly’s glad Stephanie’s with them, because she wants to go to this party. The thought of sitting at the homestead and wondering what Nicole’s doing and whether Quinn has has tried to make a move on her yet is too much for Waverly. Nicole’s having fun tonight, and so will Waverly, she’s determined to.

They reach Champ’s house and find the street already lined with cars. Chrissy finds a space to park and the girls walk down the dark sidewalk to the already overcrowded house. As they walk, Stephanie leans over to Waverly and asks, “So are you like, gay now?”

Waverly feels a twinge of annoyance at the other girl’s question but she answers anyways. “I’ve always been gay, or bi, I just didn’t always know it and then I hid it for awhile.”

“Why?”

Waverly turns to look at the blonde like she grew a second head, “Why? Because I was scared of what everyone would say. You think people would’ve just been cool with me liking girls? In this town?”

Stephanie shrugs as they near the door. “I’m cool with it.”

Waverly halts and the other girls turn to see why she stopped. “You are?” Waverly questions.

“Yeah,” Stephanie says casually, “I mean I was shocked, I had to process it for a minute, but honestly Waves, I just don’t care that much.”

Waverly blinks at her friend, surprised and oddly comforted by her indifference, “Oh.”

“So can we go in already? You may be dating some chick but _I_ am painfully single and need to find someone to hook up with tonight.” Stephanie turns and marches towards the door, disappearing into the large house without her friends.

Chrissy walks over to Waverly and links their arms together, “You ready?”

Waverly says she is and they enter the party together. They’re immediately met by a mass of Purgatory High alums from the past few years and the sound of a country song blasting from the living room speakers. Chrissy pushes her way through the throng of people and brings them to the kitchen were they can pour themselves drinks. Waverly nearly spills hers in the process of making it and doesn’t realize how strong it is until she’s taking a sip and can hardly taste the sprite. _Fuck it_ , she thinks and takes another long drink.

They mill about the party for a bit, talking to old acquaintances and playing a few rounds of beer pong which they increasingly become worse at as the night progresses and their hand-eye coordination diminishes. Waverly feels her inhibitions leaving her and pulls Chrissy out onto the dance floor. The two spend more time laughing and trying to keep each other upright than actually dancing. She’s having such a good time, she almost manages to forget about the way she left things with Nicole, almost.

Waverly watches the party in daze as she leans against one of the living room walls waiting for Chrissy to come back with new drinks. It’s taking her longer than it should and knowing the socialite Chrissy is, Waverly assumes she got caught up talking to someone in the kitchen. For the time being, Waverly is content to just people watch and let the sounds of the party wash over her.

She’s pulled from her trance by a loud male voice to her right shouting her name. “Waverly Earp! You made it!”

Before she can register who the voice belongs to, Waverly’s pulled into a tight hug and engulfed in the smell of chewing tobacco and too much cologne. When she’s released from the embrace she has to place her hands on the person’s shoulders to steady herself and leans back to take in their face.

“Oh hey Champ,” She slurs, teetering slightly to the side.

Large hands come to rest on her waist and their size and weight feel both unfamiliar and out of place after weeks of growing accustomed to Nicole’s slender hands and gentle touch.

“You look hot, as always,” Champ says, flashing her a smile that probably makes most girls swoon.

“Thanks Champ, that’s nice,” Waverly says, enjoying the compliment and being too drunk to realize the boy only said it because he wants to get in her pants.

“We should go somewhere more private,” Champ whispers in her ear. His stubble scratches her cheek and his calloused hands grip her sides and everything about it feels wrong.

Waverly manages to push herself away from the rodeo star and struggles to string her words together properly, “No I don’t think… we should… we shouldn’t-”

Champ surges forward and pulls Waverly back to him, “I think we should. Actually, I think we should’ve a long time ago but now’s as good a time as any.” He starts leading her towards the stairs. He’s not dragging her by any means, but Waverly’s so inebriated it takes all her effort just to stand up straight, let alone free her hand from Champ’s and find her way back to Chrissy.

“I have a girl… girlfriend,” She slurs as they start climbing the stairs and she grabs on to the railing to halt their progress.

“Yeah you have a ton of girl friends baby, you were the most popular girl in our class.”

Waverly shakes her head, that’s not what she meant. She’s starting to regret the numerous drinks she poured herself because her mind is moving at a sluggish pace and the world around her is moving way too fast.

A new song starts playing and as the beginning notes reach her ears, Waverly instantly recognizes it as Mr. Brightside. A rush of emotions hits her so hard, it briefly clears the fog in her head enough to register that Champ is in the process of leading her up to his bedroom and that is not somewhere she wants to go.

She twists her hand out of Champ’s grip. “I’m in a relationship, Champ. I gotta… I gotta go.” Waverly takes a step back and nearly tumbles down the stairs if not for her grip on the railing.

Champ tries to speak but Waverly cuts him off. “Great party, buddy” She says, then limply places a hand on his shoulder, “but I’m not fucking you.”

Sober Waverly would never be so direct or crude with her word choice but hammered Waverly most certainly is. Champ stares at the girl in front of him looking utterly confused and wounded.

“Goodbye Hardy,” She says and starts pushing her way aimlessly through the crowd in an attempt to find fresh air, leaving a disappointed and dumbstruck Champ on the stairs.

The random bodies pressing up against her make her feel claustrophobic and the air in the room is thick and stifling. The beat of The Killer’s song bounces off the walls and reminds her of the night she first kissed Nicole at an entirely different party and she can’t help but wish the redhead was with her now, holding her hand and guiding her through the crowd. But she’s not. Waverly’s drunk and alone and has to navigate her way through the sea of sweaty bodies on her own.

The second verse of Mr. Brightside starts up and as the lyrics float down around her, they become painfully relevant. The song is about a man envisioning the woman he loves cheating on him and driving himself crazy with his own jealously, or at least that’s Waverly’s interpretation of it.

_Now I'm falling asleep_  
_And she's calling a cab_  
_While he's having a smoke_  
_And she's taking a drag_

Waverly doesn’t want to, but her mind conjures up images of Quinn flirting with Nicole and running her fingers through soft red hair.

_Now they're going to bed_  
_And my stomach is sick_  
_And it's all in my head_

The alcohol amplifies her insecurities and even though Nicole’s never given her a good reason to doubt her faithfulness, Waverly fears the worst and imagines Quinn pulling Nicole into an empty bedroom and kissing the mouth Waverly’s been dying to kiss all break.

_Cause I just can't look, it's killing me_

Waverly feels nauseous and trapped in the packed room. She experiences an urgent need to to escape- the crowd, the song, her own treacherous thoughts, all of it. She just needs to get out, and get out now.

She finally stumbles upon a back door and emerges into the cool night air. The moment her feet touch damp grass she immediately doubles over and throws up. She manages to catch her hair before it falls in her face and heaves until her stomach has been emptied of the copious amount of drinks she consumed throughout the night. Waverly wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and wanders a few feet to her left before sinking down onto the grass and letting her head come to rest against the house’s wood paneling.

There’s hardly anyone else outside and Waverly’s too drunk to care about the few people who witnessed her getting sick. _Let them talk,_ she thinks, _I’m done caring what other people think about me._ As she sits under the night sky, a pervading sense of loneliness comes over her and Nicole has never felt so far away.

The severity of the situation she just avoided inside dawns on her and she doesn’t want to think about what could have happened had she not sobered up for a second on the stairs. Tears well up in her eyes and she wants nothing more than to be wrapped up in Nicole’s arms right now but she’ll settle for just hearing the other girl’s voice. She fishes her phone out of her back pocket and finds the redhead sent her a text thirty minutes ago asking about her night and telling Waverly to text her when she gets home safe.

The sweet message just makes the tears flow faster and Waverly presses the call button before she changes her mind. The line rings twice before Nicole picks up and her voice washes over Waverly.

_“Hey babe, what’s up?”_

Her girlfriend’s voice instantly calms her and she lets out a shaky breath. “I miss you,” She says, hearing the tremble in her own voice.

_“Baby what’s wrong?”_

“Can’ I jus’ miss you?” Waverly asks, not wanting to tell the other girl about her reckless behavior and rampant jealousy.

_“Not when you call me in the middle of the night crying and slurring your words. Talk to me, please. Did something happen? Are you somewhere safe?”_

“Nothing happened, not really… I jus’… I’m really drunk Nicole,” She’ll probably regret this phone call tomorrow but right now she’s clinging to the sound of Nicole’s voice and her soft breathing on the other end of the line like it’s her only tether to this word, “And I’m at this stupid party, which was kinda fun but now it’s not so fun and I’m alone and I jus’ miss you, did I say I missed you?”

She can hear a strained laugh through the speaker. _“You might’ve mentioned it. Where are you? It doesn’t sound very loud-”_

“Oh I’m outside, on the grass. I like it better out here,” Waverly picks at a blade of grass as she speaks and watches as the breeze carries it away into the dark backyard.

Nicole starts to talk but Waverly’s already speaking again, “I also puked, in the yard. God that’s so embarrassing why did jus’ I tell you that?” Stupid vodka, making her say things she doesn’t want to.

_“No no it’s okay, you can tell me anything. How uh, how drunk are you?”_

Waverly tilts her head back to look at the stars and hums as she thinks, “I’d say… a solid eight out of ten. I’ll remember like half of this conversation tomorrow.”

_“Did you go to the party with anyone? How are you getting home?”_

“So many questions,” Waverly groans. “Chrissy drove me here but I don’ think she’s driving me home. She’s also very intoxicated.”

 _“Okay um…”_ Waverly can hear the panic rising in Nicole’s voice and now she feels bad for worrying the other girl.

“It’s fine, I’m fine. I’ll find a way home. I know like everyone here.”

_“That doesn’t make me feel any better.”_

Waverly sighs and tries to think of a way to get home, though it’s difficult with the haziness in her head. “Imma text my sister hold on.” She removes the phone from her ear and types out a message to Wynonna that’s full of typos but she hopes gets her point across. “Okay I did it, happy?”

_“Barely, has your sister been drinking?”_

“Maaaybe…”

 _“Waverly!”_ Nicole scolds and Waverly rolls her eyes even though the redhead can’t see her.

“She’ll get some guy to drive her if she has to, she’s very resourceful. I’m in good hands, I promise.”

Waverly’s not sure she’s convinced Nicole but as soon as she gets a response from Wynonna that’s she’s on her way, Waverly instantly feels better. She’d trust her sister with her life, and she knows Wynonna wouldn’t do anything to put her in danger which includes driving drunk with Waverly in the car. She’s fairly confident Wynonna will convince whatever guy she’s flirting with at Shorty’s to drive down to Champ’s with her and pick Waverly up.

“How’s your party?” She asks, unable to contain her curiosity and wanting to change the subject.

_“Honestly? Pretty lame. A couple of my friends got in this huge fight and the party mostly died about an hour ago. Now I’m stuck having to clean everything up before my parents come home tomorrow.”_

“Oh I’m sorry,” Waverly does her best to mask her relief at hearing Nicole didn’t have some crazy night without her. And then she feels like a hypocrite.

_“It’s okay, I get to talk to you while I clean so it’s not so bad.”_

Waverly smiles and closes her eyes, her heart filling with fondness for the girl on the other end of the line. She can’t believe just a few minutes ago, she was convinced Nicole was cheating on her. She never used to be that girl, the crazy irrationally jealous type. _Love makes you crazy,_ Nicole had said. Maybe she was right. She’d known from the beginning that what she had with Nicole was more intense than anything she’d ever experienced before. Waverly had been drawn to the redhead the moment she met her and every day since fallen harder for those brown eyes and that beautiful heart of hers. What was she feeling building up her chest and spreading warmth throughout her body right now if not love? Okay maybe it was the alcohol, but in that moment, Waverly chooses to believe it’s love.

“Nicole,” She breathes, her eyes still closed.

_“Yeah Waves?”_

“I think I’m in love with you.”

She waits for Nicole’s joyous response at hearing that four letter word come out of her mouth. She waits for Nicole to say it back. She waits for anything really, but she’s met only with silence.

“Nicole?” Waverly speaks again, worried they’ve disconnected, “Did you hear what I said?”

 _“Waverly,”_ Nicole sighs, _“you’re drunk.”_

That was not the reaction Waverly was expecting. “So?”

_“So you don’t mean that.”_

“I do mean it. I love you Nicole. I love you soooo much. I love you I love you I lo-”

 _“Stop!”_ Waverly recoils at Nicole’s raised voice and pulls the phone away from her ear. Nicole speaks again, her voice softer. _“Please, Waverly. Please stop.”_

“I- I thought you’d be happy,” Waverly says tentatively, hurt by Nicole’s reaction. “Don’t you want me to love you?”

 _“Of course I do,”_ Nicole’s voice is gentle but strained, _“God Waves, you don’t know how long I’ve wanted to hear you say that but… not like this. Not when you wont even remember it in the morning.”_

“Oh,” Waverly feels the warmth in her chest dissipate and is reminded that she’s sat outside in the middle of January without a coat. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. Maybe I should just go…” The tears are beginning to pool in her eyes again.

 _“No don't go,”_ Nicole rushes out, _“There’s no way I’m sleeping tonight until I know you’re home safe. I’d feel better if you stayed on the phone.”_

Waverly finds her girlfriend’s concern comforting, but she’s still not over the tragic ‘I love you’ reaction. “Okay,” She says hesitantly, unsure how to move past her blunder.

Nicole senses her awkwardness over the line and speaks softly, _“You know I love you Waves. I’ve loved you since the day you leaned over in the middle of lecture and started doodling on my notebook-”_

“But that was in like… September,” Waverly states incredulously, interrupting Nicole’s thought.

The other girl laughs. _“I know, that’s my point. I’ve been hopelessly in love with you for months, even before we started dating, and as much as I want you to love me back, I don’t think my heart can take hearing you say those words and knowing you could wake up tomorrow and forget you ever said them, or worse, regret it.”_

There’s silence on the line as Waverly processes what Nicole just confessed. “I had no idea,” She whispers.

 _“Yeah well, now you know…”_ Nicole’s embarrassment is palpable, even from miles away. _“You’ve just got this hold on my heart, I can’t explain it,”_ She pauses, _“And it’s scary sometimes, thinking about how hard and how fast I fell for you. It’s probably scary for you hearing me say all this… I should shut up now.”_

Waverly wishes they were in the same room so she could cup Nicole’s face and wipe away the worry lines she’s sure are creasing her forehead at the moment.

“Hey I’m supposed to be the one who says too much and get’s embarrassed,” Waverly jokes, attempting to ease the tension. “I get it though,” She adds, “Sometimes, when I’m really happy, I get sad all of the sudden. I get nervous when life is going too well that something horrible will happen to and take it all away. Cause it usually does…” Waverly trials off and gets lost thinking about the disproportionate number of tragedies she’s experienced in her relatively short life.

 _“Your dad and sister,”_ Nicole whispers in understanding and Waverly nods until she remembers the other girl can’t see her.

“My uncle too,” She takes a moment to pull herself back to the present before continuing. “What I’m trying to say is, good things scare me. And so do people that I um, that I…”

 _“That you love,”_ Nicole finishes for her.

“Yeah,” Waverly sighs, relieved to have finally voiced the anxiety she’s been feeling around that word for the past month. “I don’t want to loose you,” She speaks quietly.

 _“You won’t.”_ Nicole sounds so confidant, she almost has Waverly convinced.

“How can you be sure?” She asks.

_“Because you’re it Waverly. You’re the girl of my dreams and I’m not letting you go.”_

The air leaves Waverly’s lungs as the other girl’s words wash over her. If she were here right now, Waverly would surge forward and kiss Nicole dizzy, but she’s not.

“Promise?” Waverly whispers.

_“Promise.”_

A smile forms on Waverly’s face and the cool air dries her wet cheeks. The heaviness that had settled in the pit of her stomach earlier in the night has all but disappeared and her drunken haze has morphed into more of an alcohol induced grogginess.

She checks her phone and is glad to find a text from Wynonna saying that she’s waiting out front. Nicole stays on the phone as Waverly makes her way back into the house to find her friends and offer them a ride as well- Chrissy accepts but Stephanie declines, having already found someone else she’d rather go home with- and only hangs up once Waverly assures her she’s safely on her way home.

The next morning Waverly wakes with a pounding headache and an inability to keep anything down for the following five hours. Her memories are muddled from the night before and she can only recall flashes of the party and her conversation with Nicole. She remembers the word ‘love’ coming up but she can’t remember who said it and her head aches far too much for her to try and figure it out now.

When she drags herself to the kitchen table in Nicole’s shirt, polka dot pajama pants, and a pair of sunglasses, Wynonna can’t help but torment her with the smell of greasy bacon and reminders of her drunken state the previous night. But when she has to hurl from her two bites of toast, Wynonna’s there holding her hair and rubbing circles on her back.

Waverly retreats back to the comfort of her bed and Wynonna follows, slipping under the covers next to her sister and propping her head up with her hand.

“So what happened?” She asks, causing Waverly to scrunch her forehead in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

Wynonna gives her a knowing look. “I haven’t seen you that drunk since you were seventeen and David Kline broke up with you after the homecoming game. I know you, Waves. You only drink that much when your heart is hurting, so what did carrot top do to make you want to get shit-faced at the Hardy house?”

Waverly puffs out her cheeks then releases the air inside. After her months away, she forgot how easily her sister could read her.

“She didn’t really do anything,” Waverly starts, “I mean she was late to our FaceTime and didn’t tell me she was having a party last night until I could literally hear it in the back of our call, but that shouldn’t have bothered me as much as it did.”

Wynonna shakes her head. “You can’t control how you feel,” She reaches over and moves a piece of hair that’s fallen in Waverly’s face behind her ear, “What else happened? I know you’re not telling me all of it.”

Waverly rolls her head onto her pillow face-down and groans. “You’re so annoying, can’t I just be hungover in peace?”

She feels a thwack on her head from one of her throw pillows and sits up to glare at her sister, “What was that for?”

“I’m trying to be a supportive sister before you leave me for another four months, the least you could do is participate.”

Waverly feels the annoyance leave her body and be replaced by both love and guilt. Love for her sister, the one person she trusts completely in this world, and guilt for leaving her behind to go off to college in another state.

“Wynonna I-”

The older Earp doesn’t allow her to finish. “Don’t try and apologize to me for going after your dreams. I want you to go to college and get out of this shitty town, I’ve always wanted that. Having my baby sister hundreds of miles away still sucks though.”

“It’s super sucky,” Waverly sighs and Wynonna snorts at her word choice.

“Don’t ever use that phrase again,” Wynonna scolds, then returns to her concerned tone form before. “So what’s really up, why did you spiral last night?”

“Well there’s this girl,” Waverly explains. “Her name’s Quinn and she’s one of Nicole’s friends but I hardly know anything about her other than the fact that she hates my guts and I’m starting to think she’s also got the hots for my girlfriend.”

“Sounds like a bitch,” Wynonna agrees, nodding her head in solidarity.

“And she’s always there. Every time we hang out with Nicole’s friends, she’s giving me death glares from across the room. And it always made me uncomfortable but I never felt jealous until last night when she was there at Nicole’s house being super touchy with her while I was stuck here, unable to do anything about it.” Waverly lets out a huff and then flops back down on her pillow.

“So she’s from Nicole’s hometown?” Wynonna observes.

“I guess so… See I didn’t even know that until last night. Nicole never talks about her and Quinn never talks to me so I know nothing about this chick.”

“Have you tried asking Nicole about her?”

“Well… no,” Waverly’s slightly embarrassed by her lack of communication with her girlfriend.

“Maybe start there,” Wynonna suggests, “instead of running to Champ Hardy’s party and drowning your sorrows in whiskey- yeah I know you raided my stash don’t give me that look,” Wynonna narrows her eyes at Waverly until she admits to her theft, then continues. “I know its in your blood to run away and turn to a bottle but you don’t have to be like the rest of us, Waves. You’re better than that, I know you are.”

Waverly looks down at mattress and feels like she’s somehow let her sister down. Wynonna notices and her tone is gentler as she speaks again.

“And I may have only met Haught-stuff over FaceTime but I’ve seen the way she looks at you and overhead enough disgustingly sappy conversations between you two to know the girl’s really into you. I don’t know who this Quinn bitch is, but there’s no way she’s half as cool as Waverly Earp.” Wynonna pokes her in the stomach and Waverly swats her hand away but she’s smiling again.

“Thanks Wynonna,” Waverly sighs, “I’m gonna miss you when I go back.”

“Damn straight you are.” The older sister sits up and looks down at Waverly with soft eyes. “I’m running to the store to get stuff for dinner, do you want me to pick up a Gatorade or anything?”

Waverly perks up at the offer, “Yes please, I like the-”

“The blue ones, I know,” Wynonna finishes for her. She rearranges the covers so Waverly’s completely surrounded by soft blankets before standing up to leave. “Get some rest baby girl, you’ve only got two more days in this hell hole before you can make googly eyes at your girlfriend in person instead of through a screen.”

Waverly smiles up at her sister, already dreading having to say goodbye again. She wishes she didn’t have to leave Wynonna in order to be reunited with Nicole, being apart from either of them takes a heavy toll on her heart. If it was up to her, she’d take both of them with her wherever she went.

“I love you,” She calls before Wynonna reaches the door.

Her sister turns and gives her a look she knows is only reserved for her. “I love you too nerd, now go to sleep so you can stop puking every thirty minutes.”

Waverly rolls her eyes but she closes them as soon as Wynonna shuts the door. She dreams of being back in her girlfriend’s arms and two days later, she’s in the passenger seat of Gus’s car watching the mountains and fields roll past her as they drive across the countryside towards Western University.

Night has already fallen once Waverly has hauled her bags up to her dorm room and kissed her aunt goodbye before she heads off to find a motel for the night. Waverly offered to stay with her but Gus had insisted she remain on campus and catch up with her friends. But Chelsea’s flight doesn’t get in until the next morning, her other friends are scattered about various dorms across campus, and there’s really only one person she wants to catch up with tonight.

The moment she hears the knock on her door, Waverly leaps off her bed and yanks the door open to reveal a smiling Nicole in a hoodie and sweatpants. Despite the simplistic nature of her outfit, Waverly thinks her girlfriend has never looked more attractive. She can’t quite believe she’s actually there, standing in front of her, after weeks of looking at her through a computer screen. To confirm that she’s real, Waverly launches herself into the taller girl’s arms, nearly knocking her into the opposite wall.

Nicole immediately wraps her own arms around Waverly’s middle and laughs into her hair as she stumbles backwards from the sheer force of Waverly’s hug. “Well hello to you too.”

Waverly has her face buried in the fabric of Nicole’s hoodie and she breathes in the calming scent of vanilla perfume and lavender, which she’s learned is from Nicole’s fabric softener, and feels a sense to peace wash over her that she hasn’t felt since they parted ways in December. Waverly lifts her head and pulls back enough to look into Nicole’s eyes.

“God I missed you,” She says, sliding a hand up to cup her girlfriend’s cheek.

“I missed you more.”

Waverly shakes her head. “Not possible.”

A smirk settles on Nicole’s face. “Wanna bet?”

Waverly laughs. Only Nicole would get competitive about who missed who the most. “No I’d rather you shut up and kiss me already.”

Nicole doesn’t try and argue with her, she just pulls the smaller girl closer until they’re chest to chest and kisses her softly. Waverly feels like an addict getting her first fix after weeks of withdrawals. As sweet as Nicole’s kiss is, it’s not enough for Waverly’s deprived lips and she’s quickly changing the pace to match her desperation.

Her hand is tangled in red hair and her heart rate is rising as her lips re-familiarize themselves with Nicole’s. She’s so engrossed in the taste and feel of her girlfriend that she’s startled when Nicole suddenly pulls back.

“Hey,” She whines, attempting to chase after Nicole’s lips but being held back by the taller girl’s firm grip on her waist.

“Waves,” Nicole clears her throat to rid it of the raspy tone it first took. “We’re still in the hallway.”

Waverly blushes and becomes aware of their surroundings for the first time and the scattering of students throughout the hall observing their reunion. “Oh, right,” She laughs awkwardly. “Well get your butt in here then.” Waverly pulls Nicole into her room and kicks the door shut behind her.

Over the course of their relationship, Waverly’s been pinned against walls, beds, bookshelves, all of kinds of places, but this is the first time Nicole’s been the one slammed against a door. She has to rise up on her toes for leverage, but Waverly presses herself against Nicole’s tall and slender form, successfully trapping her between the chipped paint of the door and her own body. Waverly slips her tongue between Nicole’s lips that are parted in shock at the change in their typical positions, and she can feel the girl against her melt at the contact.

Waverly’s hands find the bottom of Nicole’s hoodie and slide up her torso as she kisses her girlfriend eagerly, like she’s parched and Nicole’s lips are the only water in sight. Nicole hums against Waverly’s mouth as her hands skate over Nicole’s chest. Waverly’s hands are greedy, wanting touch everywhere on her girlfriend’s body that she couldn’t over the break. She’s just sliding them back down Nicole’s front and letting one dip below the waistband of Nicole’s sweats when the redhead disconnects their lips for a second time that evening.

“What’s wrong?” Waverly asks, bringing her hand back to settle on Nicole’s hip.

The other girl’s breathing is erratic and she looks down at Waverly with dark eyes. “Nothing, but um, you have a roommate…” Nicole’s eyes flicker over to the empty bed next to Waverly’s.

Waverly grins. “I do, but not tonight.” She wraps the drawstring of Nicole’s sweats around her finger and rises back up on her toes to whisper in Nicole’s ear. “She doesn’t come back until tomorrow; we’ve got the room all to ourselves.”

Nicole sucks in a breath and Waverly watches as goosebumps prickle her skin. The knowledge that Waverly has just as strong of an effect on Nicole as the other girl has on her is intoxicating. “So where were we?” She asks suggestively, returning her hand to its previous position and earing a gasp from the redhead as she lets it slide even lower than before.

“Babe,” Nicole barely manages to get out as Waverly’s fingers slip past the last piece of fabric in their way. “It’s been four weeks.”

“I know, it was _torture_ ,” The brunette pouts as she continues to tease the other girl with her light touch. Nicole’s head hits the door and her eyes close, her train of thought temporarily forgotten.

“I just,” Nicole swallows heavily and her voice is hoarse, “I want to feel all of you, without anything in the way.”

Waverly understands and though she was enjoying the idea of taking her girlfriend right there against the door, she agrees. She steps back and lets the oversized sweater she was wearing be tugged up and over her head and she does the same to Nicole’s hoodie. One of Waverly’s hands reaches behind Nicole’s body to find the lock on her door. She’s distracted by the task, giving Nicole time to move her own hands to the backs of Waverly’s thighs and hoist her up off the ground the moment she hears the lock click into place.

A girlish shriek erupts from Waverly’s lungs as Nicole lifts her that can probably be heard at least two rooms down, but her neighbors are the last thing on Waverly’s mind right now. She hooks her legs behind her girlfriend's back and grips her shoulders so as not to fall. “Nicole!” She cries, laughter bubbling up in her chest along with hot desire as she feels her girlfriend’s hands gripping her thighs right were her pajama shorts end and dangerously close to where she’s been aching to feel them all month.

Nicole walks them over to Waverly’s bed and the smaller girl realizes what’s about to happen a moment before it does and tries to hold on tighter but it’s futile. Nicole releases her and lets her fall onto the mattress, earning another high pitched shriek from Waverly as her back hits the soft comforter. Before Waverly has time to sit herself up, Nicole’s already on top of her, having discarded any remaining articles of clothing while Waverly caught her breath.

“These are adorable,” Nicole says sweetly, rubbing the fabric of Waverly’s donut-covered pajama shorts between her thumb and pointer finger, “but they’re going to have to go.”

Waverly doesn’t argue, completely spellbound by the girl above her and wanting the extra garments out of the way just as badly. Nicole hooks her fingers under both waistbands and slides the last two pieces of clothing off in one quick motion before settling herself on top of Waverly and kissing her fully.

Both girls sigh into the kiss as their bodies fit together like pieces of a puzzle and the miles that were once between them have been reduced to nothing. The only decoration still on Waverly’s body is the little silver necklace that sits just below her collar bone. When Nicole notices this, she separates their lips and delicately picks up the small sun charm.

“You really are my sunshine,” She says, smiling down at Waverly.

All of Waverly’s insecurities and fears from the past week seem to float away and are replaced by an overwhelming feeling of affection for the girl right in front of her. With Nicole there, gazing down into her eyes, their bodies pressed together and her senses flooded with anything and everything that is Nicole, Waverly can’t even recall what had upset her three days prior.

Because here was this girl, this amazing girl, whose kisses made Waverly’s heart skip beats, who made her feel things she could have never even fathomed, and who said sweet words like the ones that just came out of her mouth.

“Yeah?” Waverly asks, breathless and transfixed by those brown eyes.

Nicole presses a kiss to the sun pendent before setting it back down on Waverly’s bare chest and tilting her head to hover her lips just above Waverly’s.

“My only sunshine,” Nicole whispers, reconnecting their lips in a searing kiss.

And in that moment, Waverly believes her.


End file.
